Woman Who Threatened to Kill VP Kamala Harris Because She is 'Not Actually Black' Pleads Guilty
© AP Photo / Manuel Balce Ceneta
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Prior to her arrest in April, Niviane Petit Phelps, who is herself Black, worked as a nurse in the Jackson Health System in Florida. Her legal team insists that the woman didn't pose any threat to the vice president and was simply "venting" because she was going through stress and anxiety "due to the extended incarceration of her husband".
A woman has pleaded guilty to threatening to kill US Vice President Kamala Harris. According to a press release by the Justice Department, 39-year-old Niviane Phelps sent her husband, who was in prison, short videos, where she talked about her plans to kill the official within 50 days.
"You are going to die. Your days are numbered already", the woman said in one video.
In another clip, Phelps claimed she had received $53,000 to carry out the "hit" against Kamala Harris. The ex-nurse also sent her husband a photograph of herself standing next to a target sheet with a firearm. Two days later she applied for a concealed weapons permit.
In another clip, Phelps claimed she had received $53,000 to carry out the "hit" against Kamala Harris. The ex-nurse also sent her husband a photograph of herself standing next to a target sheet with a firearm. Two days later she applied for a concealed weapons permit.
A Jackson Memorial Hospital nurse is under arrest for allegedly recording videos where she threatened to kill U.S. VP Kamala Harris.
— ERIC JEM 🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊 (@mubazieric) April 18, 2021
Niviane Petit Phelps, 39, sent five 30-second videos and two photographs to her husband back in February through a service known as "JPay," pic.twitter.com/tYWcoSZkzl
Phelps sent messages to her husband via JPay, a computer application used for communication between incarcerated individuals and their relatives or friends. According to local media outlets, a prison offical saw the woman's disturbing messages and informed the US Secret Service about them.
During a subsequent interrogation, Phelps said she was angry that Harris, first Asian-American and first woman to be elected vice president, was "not actually black" and claimed that Harris didn't put her hand on the Bible during the swearing-in ceremony, which is false.
Phelp's mother told local media that her daughter was depressed and desperate and that she "listened to what people tell her". Her lawyer said Phelps "led an honorable life until this incident" and noted that the woman plans to demonstrate "significant mitigating circumstances". The 39-year-old faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
During a subsequent interrogation, Phelps said she was angry that Harris, first Asian-American and first woman to be elected vice president, was "not actually black" and claimed that Harris didn't put her hand on the Bible during the swearing-in ceremony, which is false.
Phelp's mother told local media that her daughter was depressed and desperate and that she "listened to what people tell her". Her lawyer said Phelps "led an honorable life until this incident" and noted that the woman plans to demonstrate "significant mitigating circumstances". The 39-year-old faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
