KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Congressman Tim Burchett's office has asked authorities to look into whether a Blount County commissioner made threatening statements last month in a phone call to his Capitol Hill office.
Michael Grider, the Knoxville Republican lawmaker's chief of staff, confirmed Monday with WBIR that he sent a note to Blount County Sheriff Jim Berrong on June 24, the same day a woman made the call. WBIR obtained a copy of the email from Berrong's office in a records request.
The woman made the call a couple hours after the U.S. Supreme Court released its ruling tossing Roe v. Wade, the landmark abortion-rights decision that had stood 50 years.
"Our office is working with local, state and federal authorities, which are looking into this matter," Grider said in a statement Monday to WBIR. "While our office does not typically discuss details of threats or threatening comments made toward Congressman Burchett, we do take such matters very seriously and immediately refer them to law enforcement officials for further investigation."
A woman on June 24 called the 2nd District representative's office, using a phone number linked to Jackie Hill, a Democratic county commissioner.
WBIR reached out to Hill on Monday, dialing the same number captured by Burchett's office, and left a message for comment.
A Burchett intern took the phone call about 12:36 p.m. June 24.
According to Burchett's office, the woman made statements the office considered threatening. Grider alerted United States Capitol Police.
"The call was answered by an intern. The intern reported that the constituent stated, "This is the last chance for republicans (sic). I'm going to gather up the people I know. I'd like to kill every republican I know." This is a near-quote, according to our intern," Grider's note to U.S. Capitol Police states.
"We cross referenced the phone number with our constituent services database and the number is assigned in our files to a "Jackie Hill".... Jackie Hill is an elected official (County Commissioner) in Blount County.
"We take such threatening statements seriously and respectfully request that the (USCP) conduct a threat assessment of this individual. Thank you for your attention to this issue."
Grider then forwarded his U.S. Capitol Police inquiry to Berrong.
"I wanted to flag the email and information below for you for your awareness. It appears Commissioner Jackie Hill called our office and made concerning and threatening statements toward Congressman Burchett and other republicans," his email states.
Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Marian O'Briant told WBIR on Monday, "I can tell you that we are not working any cases involving that."
Posts about the threatening phone call have appeared on social media and been addressed on a local radio program.
