A former Voice of America is facing criminal charges after he allegedly threatened to murder a federal lawmaker last year.
Seth Jason, 64, of Maryland was indicted by a federal grand jury on four criminal counts that include conspiracy and threats after investigators say he made phone calls that contained verifiable threats against Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene.
According to police, Jason used phones that were located within the newsroom and control studio of Voice of America (VOA) when he made the threats between October 2023 and January of this year.
A social media profile connected to Jason shows he worked as a studio and lighting technician for VOA and a Washington, D.C.-area PBS member station for more than two decades.
In addition to his time at the two broadcasters, Jason reportedly worked as a volunteer reserve police officer for the Anne Arundel County Police Department in Maryland. None of his alleged criminal activities are believed to be connected to his time with the police department, where he volunteered since 2016.
Police say Jason made numerous threats against Greene and her family members over the course of more than a year. More than eight phone calls were made over the course of 15 months, according to federal prosecutors. The phone calls were traced by Capitol Police back to the VOA’s headquarters.
In one of the phone calls, Jason allegedly threatened to shoot Greene during one of her book-signing events, police said.
It isn’t clear if VOA assisted police in their investigation, nor is it known if Jason was one of hundreds of employees placed on leave and ultimately laid off by the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) earlier this year.
Jason was arraigned on the four-count indictment earlier this week. He faces nearly 20 years in prison if convicted on all four charges, though his actual prison sentence — if any — is likely to be lower based on his criminal history and whether he accepts responsibility, among other factors.
USAGM is in the process of replacing most of VOA’s programming with news packages and content produced by One America News Network as part of a multi-year licensing agreement between the government agency and the broadcaster.
