Indianapolis woman sentenced to federal prison after threatening to kill United States Representative

An Indianapolis woman has been sentenced to more than two years in prison for threatening a federal official.

Shayla Addison, 28, has been sentenced to 27 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to two counts of influencing a federal official by threat.

According to court documents, on January 15, 2025, beginning at approximately 8:53 a.m., Addison sent five text messages to the campaign phone number of Victim 1, a member of the United States House of Representatives. The messages included explicit threats to kill Victim 1, including statements such as “Come outside b**** we’ll kill you” and “Tread lightly,” among other variations.

Minutes later, Addison sent additional messages to Victim 1’s campaign email address, again threatening to kill Victim 1 and stating, “We will kill you and blow that whole building up b**** come outside.” That same day, Addison also posted threatening comments on Victim 1’s Instagram account, including: “Shut up h** I’ll kill you” and “I hope you got mace… cause you gone need it.”

By sending the messages, Addison intended to retaliate against Victim 1 on account of Victim 1’s performance of official duties.

Court documents do not specify which Congress member Addison was threatening, stating only that it was a member who has served in the position since 2021.

Addison has a long history of threatening people, including convictions for intimidation and invasion of privacy in three separate cases. In September 2019, Addison repeatedly called the Firehouse Subs restaurant in Hendricks County, Indiana where her ex-boyfriend worked and threatened to “blow up” or “shoot up” the store. The threatening calls continued into the next morning when Addison texted “We will be there at 1:00 p.m. to shoot the store up.” The investigation revealed that the calls began after Addison’s ex-boyfriend announced that he and his new girlfriend were having a child together.

Less than three months later, in December 2019, Addison called the same Firehouse Subs restaurant more than 50 times in a single day. Then, in September 2023, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers were dispatched to Addison’s mother’s apartment after Addison threatened to burn down the residence and poured gasoline on the front steps. When officers arrived, Addison was sitting in her car with an open gas can on the front seat.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation Indianapolis and United States Capitol Police investigated this case. The sentence was imposed by U.S. Chief District Court Judge James R. Sweeney II. 

“Threats of political violence regardless of where they come from, or who is targeted, are unacceptable and constitute a serious federal crime,” said Tom Wheeler, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. “Targeting the safety of elected officials undermines their ability to freely serve the American people. Our office, along with our federal partners, will remain steadfast in putting a stop to these threats before they can come to fruition.”