(The Center Square) – A woman who threatened violence against an independent journalist has been charged with harassment and could face up to a year in jail if convicted.
Debra Yepez of Spokane threatened to come to the home of Brandi Kruse, host of the UnDivided podcast, after Kruse posted about Yepez allegedly threatening a woman in Spokane who was signing a petition outside of a grocery store.
“I need to find this woman. Can someone help me find her because she’s so gross,” Yepez wrote in a post on X. “I’m about to get in my car and drive to this motherf——- b—–s house. I’m gonna whoop the ever loving s— out of your white ass.”
“I get unhinged comments directed at me all the time, but obviously this is a very clear actionable threat that ‘I’m going to come to your house to harm you,"” Kruse told The Center Square on Tuesday.
According to police documents provided by Kruse, Yepez has another active case for threatening to beat up the woman in Spokane who was signing one of Let’s Go Washington’s initiatives concerning the protection of girls in sports.
“The fact that she used her very public social media platform to cover that encounter and then come and threaten me for covering that encounter shows that she has a propensity for violence,” Kruse said. “And as shown in her own video, she said, ‘I am not a nonviolent person."”
Kruse said the most concerning part for her is the fact that the rhetoric being spewed by those who have gone so far as to threaten violence is the same language being pushed by powerful groups with large influence.
The Center Square reached out to Let’s Go Washington founder Brian Heywood for comment.
“Civil discourse is hard; screaming at a young mother and child and issuing online threats is apparently much easier,” Heywood texted The Center Square. “That choice speaks volumes about the strength of their position. It is disturbing that the ACLU and the WEA teachers’ union are promoting a narrative that leads to this type of violence.”
According to LGW, several other individuals have been charged in connection with recent attacks on signature gatherers. Those include charges against people in Aberdeen, Poulsbo, University Place, Tacoma, Covington, Gig Harbor, Tumwater, Arlington and Newcastle.
The harassment charge Yepez is facing is a gross misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail and/or a $5,000 fine.
Her next court appearance is set for Dec. 7.
