A woman who pleaded guilty to threatening U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, pictured in Newberry, SC, Wednesday April 1, 2026, was threatened to 27 months in federal prison. (Photo by Mark Susko/Special to the SC Daily Gazette)
An Indianapolis woman who pleaded guilty to threatening U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace will spend more than two years in prison, the Department of Justice said Tuesday.
Shayla Addison was charged in January with sending text messages and emails to Mace’s campaign phone number and email address account threatening to kill her and blow up her office. She also posted threatening comments on Mace’s Instagram account.
Federal authorities did not name Mace as the victim, referring only to “Victim 1” as a U.S. House member. But the 1st District congresswoman identified herself as the recipient of the threats. In January, she told reporters they were part of an uptick in death threats she’d experienced for over a year.
Indianapolis woman to plead guilty to threatening Rep. Mace: ‘I basically live in hiding’
Addison, 28, will spend 27 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, Indiana District Judge James Sweeney decided this week.
“Threats of political violence regardless of where they come from, or who is targeted, are unacceptable and constitute a serious federal crime,” Tom Wheeler, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, said in a news release.
Addison’s threats, sent in January 2025, were explicit, Mace wrote Tuesday in response to the sentencing.
“Thank God for the law enforcement officers who took them seriously and acted swiftly,” she wrote on social media, including some examples. “Let me be clear: political violence has NO place in Ameria. Not against me. Not against anyone. And those who threaten should face swift justice.”
Addison had a history of threatening people and businesses, according to a news release from the U.S. attorney’s office in Indiana.
She spent a year in prison after repeatedly calling the Firehouse Subs where her ex-boyfriend worked and threatening to blow it up in 2019, then another year on probation for calling the restaurant more than 50 times in one day, according to court filings.
She spent another year on probation after threatening to burn down her mother’s apartment complex in 2023, according to court documents.
Addison faced up to 10 years in prison, though her attorneys asked for supervised release, saying the messages were part of “an early-morning impulsive 13-minute angry outburst triggered by news reports of mutually disrespectful verbal conflict on the floor of the House of Representatives.”
The messages came after Mace asked U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, a Texas Democrat, whether she wanted to “take it outside” during a debate over civil rights and transgender rights, Addison’s attorneys said in court filings.
Addison is also pregnant and expecting a child in January, her attorneys said. Sweeney recommended Addison serve her sentence in a prison that offers programs allowing inmates to stay with their children.
Imposing a prison sentence “will send a message that the law must be respected and that violent threats against elected officials will not be tolerated,” prosecutors wrote in court filings, pointing to an increase in threats against politicians.
“Our office, along with our federal partners, will remain steadfast in putting a stop to these threats before they can come to fruition,” Wheeler said.
Mace’s third term in Congress ends in January. She opted to run for governor this year instead of re-election to the U.S. House but placed fifth in last month’s GOP gubernatorial primary.
Courtesy of South Carolina Daily Gazette
