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A Black Florida nurse is facing up to five years in prison after she admitted to threatening the life of Vice President Kamala Harris, PEOPLE reported.
39-year-old Niviane Petit Phelps pleaded guilty in federal court to a six-count indictment for the potential threat, according to a statement by the Department of Justice, the report notes.
During her court case, Phelps admitted that back in February, she sent her husband, who was in prison, a 30-second clip of herself threatening to kill the Vice President.
The video, according to CNN, shows Phelps screaming curse words and making threats against Harris. She also claimed that she had “accepted $53,000” to carry out the “hit” against the Vice President “within 50 days,” the Justice Department said.
After sending the alarming video, Phelps began to send questionable photographs of herself holding a firearm with a target sheet at a gun range, and two days later, she
applied for a concealed weapon permit. A statement from the court added that “Some of the video clips she recorded herself; others, she had her children record.”
Phelps and her legal team have argued that while her threatening statements against Harris appear bizarre, that she was only venting to her husband at the time. Phelps’ attorney, Scott B. Saul, said in a statement on Sept. 14, that his client “is adamant that she was just venting
as she was going through a tumultuous time in her life and never had an intent to carry out her threats,”
The Miami Herald noted.
The statement added that “it has been important for Ms. Phelps to demonstrate her acceptance of responsibility as she begins to atone for her aberrant actions.” Futhermore, Phelps hopes to recieve an “equitable” sentence from the judge handling the case. Phelps is scheduled for sentencing on November 19.
