Pasco Sheriff Arrests Woman For Threatening Judge On Facebook

ZEPHYRHILLS, FL — Under a new Florida law that makes it a crime to post threats to kill or do bodily harm to someone on Facebook, a Zephyrhills woman was arrested Thursday, Aug. 9, after the Pasco County Sheriff's Office was made aware of a threatening comment she posted on her Facebook page.

Jeanie Lynn Bowman, 34, has been charged with written threats to kill or do bodily harm.

According to Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco, Bowman appeared in the West Pasco Judicial Center in Dade City on Aug. 1 to request that Circuit Judge Mary Handsel lift a no-contact order in a battery case in which Bowman was the victim. The judge denied the request.

Later that morning, Bowman commented on her Facebook page: "Jeanie Lynn Bowman is feeling angry. If anyone needs me, I’ll be at the top of a clock tower eliminating problems ..."

Late in the day, she posted: "Searching for one within sniping range of the courthouse, open to suggestions."

During the sheriff's office investigation, detectives reviewed phone calls between Bowman and Stephen Hunt, a jail inmate convicted in the battery against Bowman.

During their conversations, Bowman reportedly admitted to making the comments on Facebook and told Hunt that she knew where Handsel's daughter plays softball.

Upon her arrest, Bowman told deputies that she wrote the threats while angry and never intended to follow through with them.

Image via Pasco Sheriff

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