A Minnesota woman has pleaded guilty to threatening Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth after leaving a series of violent voicemails earlier this year. Rachel Marie Welsch, 43 and a resident of Washington County, pleaded guilty to one count of threats of violence.

Threats and Plea Agreement

Under a plea agreement, Welsch is expected to receive five years of probation and could face up to 90 days in county jail. Welsch is scheduled to be sentenced on September 10. Prosecutors charged Welsch in February after alleging she repeatedly left threatening voicemails for Demuth over several weeks during Operation Metro Surge, a federal immigration enforcement operation supported by Minnesota Republicans that drew significant public backlash.

According to court records, Welsch left numerous messages in January and February, calling Demuth a “traitor” and “racist.” In later voicemails, Welsch referenced semi-automatic rifles, noted there was “no bulletproof glass” separating the two, and claimed she had been taking shooting classes and improving her marksmanship.

Response from Law Enforcement and Demuth

The Minnesota State Patrol visited Welsch’s home in early January after the initial messages, but prosecutors said she continued leaving voicemails that escalated in threats. In a statement following the guilty plea, Demuth, who is also a Republican candidate for governor, thanked law enforcement and the Washington County Attorney’s Office for taking the threats seriously.

Demuth stated, “I sincerely hope that the consequences in this case will dissuade future threats, and that legislators and other public officials can continue to do their jobs without having to fear for the safety of themselves or their families.”

Original reporting: KTBS 3 (Shreveport) — read the source article.