A former Georgia poll worker has been sentenced to prison after admitting to mailing a letter that contained threats to bomb a Jones County precinct and harm poll workers.
Nicholas Wimbish, 26, of Milledgeville, was sentenced to serve 20 months in prison to be followed by one year of supervised release and ordered to pay a $2,000 fine by U.S. District Judge Marc Treadwell on Sept. 18. Wimbish previously pleaded guilty to one count of conveying false information and making hoaxes on Feb. 14.
According to court documents and statements referenced in court, Wimbish was employed as a poll worker at the Jones County Elections Office in Gray, Georgia, on Oct. 16, 2024, when he had a verbal altercation with a voter. Later that evening and into the early hours of Oct. 17, 2024, Wimbish conducted relevant online research and then drafted a letter posing as the voter threatening to bomb the polling place.
The letter, which was mailed to the Jones County Elections Superintendent from a ‘Jones County Voter’ on Oct. 17, 2024, arrived at the election office on Oct. 22, 2024. In the letter, Wimbish threatened to ‘rage rape’ the ‘ladies’ and warned them to ‘watch every move they make and look over their shoulder.’ Below the typewritten letter, Wimbish wrote a note by hand, ‘PS boom toy in early vote place, cigar burning, be safe.’
Wimbish admitted that he knew a ‘boom toy’ was a term for an explosive device and that he lied to FBI agents investigating the mailed threat. He falsely stated that he believed the Jones County voter sent the letter and that he had not conducted online research on himself. The letter was found on Wimbish’s computer.
U.S. Attorney William R. ‘Will’ Keyes stated, ‘Ensuring the security of our polling places is essential. Americans must be able to express their political choices at the ballot box without fear of violence or harm.’
The FBI Atlanta Field Office investigated the case, and U.S. Attorney Keyes prosecuted the case for the Government with assistance from the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section.
Defendant/respondent: Nicholas Wimbish
Criminal charges: Conveying false information and making hoaxes
City and state: Macon, Georgia
Exact date: Feb. 14, 2024 (plea), Sept. 18, 2024 (sentence)
Sentence or outcome: 20 months in prison, one year of supervised release, $2,000 fine
Dollar amounts: $2,000 fine
Category: Public Corruption, Violent Crime
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Key Facts
- State: Georgia
- Category: Public Corruption|Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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