Murfreesboro Woman Charged for Threatening to Kill Blackburn

A Murfreesboro woman was arrested and charged with threatening to kill a federal official after she allegedly threatened in a voicemail to shoot and kill gubernatorial candidate and U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn.

Penelope Convertino, a 22-year-old, was arrested by Federal Bureau of Investigation agents on Thursday in Nashville, after federal prosecutors said that she left the threatening voicemail on Blackburn’s Nashville office phone on Friday, May 30.

According to court documents, the voicemail stated the following:

“My name is motherfucker and I’m gonna kill Marsha Blackburn. I’m gonna shoot her with a gun. I’m gonna blow up her head on national TV. She will literally have brains splattered behind her because she will not be a person. She will be a dead fucking body.”

The voicemail wasn’t heard by a Senate staffer until the following Monday, June 2.

Convertino was arraigned in court on Thursday, where she was appointed a public defender and pleaded not guilty. She was released on home detention while she awaits trial and is prohibited from contacting Blackburn, her staff or office. She is also prohibited from contacting or posting online about any public official.

Convertino is being electronically monitored during that detention and is prohibited from possessing firearms and may be required to undergo mental health treatment during her pre-trial detention.

“Threats against the life of any public official are unacceptable and should be prosecuted to the fullest extent,” Blackburn told the Williamson Scene in an email. “I am grateful to law enforcement and federal prosecutors in the Middle District of Tennessee for taking this threat seriously and for their swift action. My focus remains on serving the people of Tennessee, and I will not be intimidated or deterred by those who seek to silence me.”

If convicted, Convertino faces a maximum of 10 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.

“Our public officials should be able to do their jobs without receiving vile death threats,” Acting United States Attorney Robert E. McGuire said in a news release. “Threatening public officials with deadly violence cannot and will not be tolerated. We will not hesitate to hold those who make these kinds of violent threats accountable for their crimes.”