A woman with a history of mental illness has been arrested for threatening to kill U.S. Rep. Doug Collins, R-Gainesville, and his daughter, according to 92.1 WLHR in Lavonia.
A spokeswoman for Collins confirmed the arrest just a few minutes ago. The radio station identified the woman as Pam Spivey of Lavonia:
"She was apparently upset with some actions or lack of actions by U.S. Representative Doug Collins," Carlisle said. "She expressed those displeasures to another local resident recently and in that conversation made death threats against the Congressman and his daughter."
Carlisle said Spivey told a friend that she was upset about what she called the Medicare Death Panel and claimed her recently deceased father had been murdered by them.
Collins spokeswoman Katy Summerlin confirmed the arrest. "We are fully cooperating with the FBI and local authorities, and we're thankful for their diligence. We're looking forward to this matter being resolved as quickly as possible," she said.
Collins' daughter, Jordan, has her own story. From a 2013 piece by Daniel Malloy, one of your Insiders:
The couple spent the following weeks reading about the disease and preparing for a cesarean section birth followed immediately by surgery.
One day Lisa, an elementary school teacher, was approached by a co-worker who told her: "You have a choice" about whether to keep Jordan.
"There is no choice, " replied Lisa, a Baptist who met Doug at church. "God gave me this child and what this child becomes. If God didn't want me to keep this child, God would take care of it, and that was His choice."
The night Jordan was born, Dr. Saul Adler told Collins that Jordan's oxygen levels would probably "crash" --- a word that haunted Collins with its bluntness.
"If she comes back up, she should be fine, " Adler said.
"What if she doesn't?" Collins asked.
"Well, she may not make it 'til the morning, " Adler replied.
The Collinses later learned that Jordan had rebounded on the fourth dose of the drug Exosurf to lubricate her tiny lungs. She would not have been given a fifth.
Now 21, Jordan has had 25-to-30 surgeries, her parents estimate. She gets around in a wheelchair, which she used to set records at North Hall High School in the 200-meter and 800-meter wheelchair races.
She works part time at Lisa's elementary school as a lunchroom monitor. At home, she helps keep her younger brothers in line, and she was a fixture on the campaign trail with her father. She would roll in parades with her dad, a Collins sign affixed to the back of her chair.
After the campaign was over, Collins went for a walk one day and found Jordan rolling alongside of him.
"I'm staffing you; nobody else is around, " she said.
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