Authorities have reportedly convicted a failed mayoral candidate in Tennessee of making a pipe bomb.
This comes after he reportedly threatened townspeople on social media.
That man, Jonathan Edward White, who ran for mayor in Hardin County, faces up to 10 years in prison, according to a new article from the Associated Press.
“Prosecutors said Tennessee Bureau of Investigation agents began investigating White after he wrote a Facebook post last August that ‘a war is coming’ and that he’d be going after people he accused of being corrupt,” the Associated Press reports.
“Authorities said White met with undercover agents and gave them a pipe bomb.”
White is a bail bondsman who got only a few hundred votes as an also-ran mayoral candidate and was involved in a custody dispute over a child.
Authorities are scheduled to sentence White in federal court on October 10, according to The Jackson Sun.
“This office, along with our law enforcement partners, takes all bomb threats seriously, and we are vigilant to protect and prevent property damage, bodily injury, and death from any explosive device in West Tennessee,” U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant stated in a news release.
“We commend the quick, thorough, and coordinated response of all of the federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies involved in this investigation, and we are pleased that this dangerous offender has been held accountable.”
According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Tennessee, this case was investigated by the Hardin County Sheriff’s Office; Savannah Police Department; Tennessee Bureau of Investigation; Tennessee Highway Patrol; Tennessee Department of Public Safety and Homeland Security; and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
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Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected].
