‘I'm gonna go postal.' Mail carrier purposely hits USPS vehicle in VA, feds say
Lolita Brickhouse, 31, pleaded guilty on July 15 to causing more than $42,000 in damage at the USPS mail delivery facility in Falls Church, about a 5-mile drive west from Arlington, on Jan. 16, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia said in a news release.
Now Brickhouse, of Falls Church, is facing up to 10 years in prison on a charge of destruction of government property exceeding $1,000 in damage, according to federal prosecutors.
Her federal public defender did not immediately return McClatchy News' request for comment July 16.
After Brickhouse's shift as a mail carrier ended the evening of Jan. 16, she left the USPS facility but went back to look for her cellphone, a federal agent wrote in an affidavit.
When she could not find her phone with the help of her supervisor, she accused her co-workers of stealing it, the affidavit says.
According to the filing, Brickhouse then knocked down a garbage can and declared to her supervisor: 'I'm gonna go postal.'
The postal inspector investigating Brickhouse wrote in the affidavit that 'this phrase has been used to refer to a series of incidents where Postal workers shot and killed their supervisors, co-workers, police, and the general public.'
After the comment, Brickhouse was accused of knocking off an array of items from her supervisor's desk, including an iPad, binders and keys.
She also 'personally insulted her supervisors and coworkers and taunted them to call the police,' prosecutors said.
Brickhouse then grabbed the keys to a USPS vehicle in the parking lot, got inside and drove into another USPS vehicle, causing it to hit a third vehicle, according to prosecutors.
Following the crash, Brickhouse smashed a driver-side window with her metal water bottle, prosecutors said.
In total, she caused $42,376.95 in damage to the three USPS vehicles, according to a statement of facts.
Prosecutors argued that Brickhouse's actions were 'willful, intentional, knowing, and deliberate, and were not committed by mistake, accident, or other innocent reason.'
Her sentencing is set for Oct. 16, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fox News
11 hours ago
- Fox News
Ex-Voice of America employee allegedly threatened to murder Marjorie Taylor Greene and her family
Print Close By Alexandra Koch Published July 17, 2025 A former Voice of America employee and reserve police officer was arrested Thursday after allegedly making continuous threats to murder Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and her family over a span of nearly two years. Seth Jason, 64, of Maryland, was arrested by the United States Capitol Police (USCP) and is facing a four-count indictment for allegedly influencing a federal official by threatening a family member, influencing a federal official by threat, interstate communications with a threat to kidnap or injure and anonymous telecommunications harassment. Police also seized a laptop, several telephones, an iPad and multiple thumb drives. During a news conference on Thursday, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said the threats were made "repeatedly and continuously" from October 2023 through the end of January this year. AFTER MINNESOTA KILLINGS, CAPITOL HILL REPRESENTATIVES FACE STARK REALITY ABOUT FAMILY SAFETY Pirro said Jason was accused of making statements including, "I'm looking forward to your book signing. We are all armed and ready to take care of you. We're coming after you and your staff, and we are locked and loaded. We're going to take you all out. We've got our AK-47s. You're going to get one between the eyes. Bam, bam, bam." Staff members at Greene's offices were also threatened, including the staff members' families, according to Pirro. GEORGIA MAN INDICTED FOR MAKING ALLEGED THREATS AGAINST SENATORS CRUZ, FISCHER IN DISTURBING VOICEMAILS Making the case even more egregious, Pirro said Jason was a "rogue" former full-time federal government employee at Voice of America. She said he used phones in the control rooms where broadcasters were reporting to make the threats. He is currently unemployed after retiring from Voice of America a few months ago. The retirement came as President Donald Trump ordered the dismantling of the U.S.'s state-funded media outlet, with a federal judge later restoring the agency. "Through the leadership of President Trump, this sprawling federal bureaucracy is being held accountable, including through the work of Kari Lake, who is senior advisor to the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which oversees Voice of America." Lake took to social media to thank Pirro for "taking these threats seriously." "I am sickened by what Congresswoman @RepMTG, her staff and their families had to go through as the threats persisted for 15 months! It angers me that a taxpayer-funded VOA employee would use taxpayer-funded equipment in a depraved way to threaten the lives of people, including an elected official," Lake wrote in a post on X. "If he is found guilty, I hope he is sentenced to the maximum amount of time behind bars." Lake also said it's time to shut Voice of America down. Meanwhile, Pirro vowed to hold government employees to the highest standards. "No one should have to live their life looking over their shoulder every day and wondering if those threats are about to be fulfilled… The threat to have your family murdered as well as yourself, is debilitating." "My message today should be loud and clear: This behavior is a crime," she added. "You threaten a public official, and you'll face the full force of the law crushing down on you. There will be no mercy and no excuses." MACE DELIVERS BLISTERING IMPACT STATEMENT, SHAKES HAND OF TRANS THREAT SUSPECT'S FATHER AFTER BOND IS DENIED U.S. Capitol Police Chief Mike Sullivan said the view of threats against lawmakers has changed since former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, were killed in their Minnesota home. The suspect in the Hortman murders, Vance Boelter, also allegedly shot Minnesota state senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, on the same morning. "We are going to work very, very hard to hold you accountable if you make these threats," Sullivan said. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Jason, who was a volunteer reserve officer with the Anne Arundel County Police Department, is no longer associated with the agency, a spokesperson told Fox News Digital. Pirro said there is no reason to believe Jason was involved in prior swatting incidents reported by Greene. Greene's office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment. Print Close URL
CNBC
15 hours ago
- CNBC
Fired Jeffrey Epstein prosecutor Comey: 'Fear is the tool of a tyrant'
The Jeffrey Epstein prosecutor who was abruptly fired by the Justice Department as President Donald Trump comes under pressure to release files suggested Thursday that she was being targeted by a "tyrant." "If a career prosecutor can be fired without reason, fear may seep into the decisions of those who remain," the prosecutor, Maurene Comey, wrote in a farewell note to staff at the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's Office. "Do not let that happen." "Fear is the tool of a tyrant, wielded to suppress independent thought. Instead of fear, let this moment fuel the fire that already burns in the heart of this place," she wrote in the note. "A fire of righteous indignation at abuses of power. Of commitment to seek justice for victims." Comey was terminated Wednesday by the Justice Department from the U.S. Attorney's Office, where her high-profile criminal cases included ones against Epstein, his procurer Ghislaine Maxwell, and Sean "Diddy Combs. Comey is the daughter of former FBI Director James Comey, whom Trump has considered an enemy since he fired the director in 2017. Hours before Maurene Comey was fired, Trump lashed out at Republicans who are demanding that the Justice Department release more files about the Epstein case. "Their new SCAM is what we will forever call the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax, and my PAST supporters have bought into this 'bull----,' hook, line, and sinker," Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. A number of Trump's supporters have criticized the recent decision by Attorney General Pam Bondi not to release previously undisclosed evidence that was assembled during the Justice Department's investigation of Epstein. The well-connected financier killed himself in jail in August 2019, a month after he was arrested on federal sex-trafficking charges.
Time Magazine
18 hours ago
- Time Magazine
Who Is Maurene Comey, the Fired U.S. Attorney and Prosecutor of Jeffrey Epstein?
The Department of Justice has abruptly fired a prosecutor who worked on the case against the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, and Sean 'Diddy' Combs. Maurene Comey was fired Wednesday from her job in the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's Office, Politico first reported. CNN and the Associated Press also reported on Comey's firing, citing unnamed sources familiar with the situation. While the reason remains unclear, Comey's firing comes at a time of heightened interest in the Trump Administration's handling of the so-called Epstein files. A memo released last week by the Justice Department and FBI effectively dismissed the existence of an Epstein 'client list,' and said that the agencies will disclose no further information on the case. Some high-profile supporters of President Trump have criticized the decision. During his campaign for the presidency, Trump had promised to release the Epstein files and had fueled intrigue in his death. Epstein died by suicide in 2019 at a New York correctional center while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. Trump shrugged off outrage this week over the Epstein files and rebuked his own supporters for buying into a 'Jeffrey Epstein Hoax.' Read More: A Timeline of Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein's Relationship as It Draws Renewed Attention When asked about Comey's firing, the White House referred TIME to the Justice Department, which has not immediately responded to a request for comment. Who is Maurene Comey? Comey had worked at the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) since November 2015, and has served leadership roles in its public corruption unit and violent and organized crime unit. Comey is the daughter of former FBI Director James Comey, who led SDNY from 2002 to 2003. Trump fired James Comey in May 2017 over his handling of the inquiry into Hillary Clinton's emails, but Democrats have said the move was a result of the FBI investigating alleged links between the Trump campaign and Russia. James Comey, who is seen as an adversary of Trump, was recently followed by law enforcement after sharing a post on social media critical of the U.S. President. The FBI is also investigating the elder Comey for possible false statements to Congress. A person familiar with Maurene Comey's firing told CNN that being a Comey is impossible in this Administration as her father is 'constantly going after the Administration.' Comey is married to Lucas Issacharoff, who works at SDNY's Civil Division as an assistant attorney. As a federal attorney, Comey has also taken on high-profile cases. Among them are the prosecutions of Treasury Department whistleblower Natalie Edwards, and Robert Hadden, a top New York doctor who was sentenced for luring patients across state lines so he could sexually abuse them. 'She is truly a prosecutor's prosecutor,' Kristy Greenberg, former deputy chief of the SDNY's criminal division, told MSNBC, adding that many people look up to her and that she is 'beloved' in the agency. How is Maurene Comey involved in the Epstein case? Comey was one of three lead prosecutors in the case against Epstein and the British socialite Maxwell, who was convicted for helping the disgraced Epstein sexually abuse young girls. She has been serving a 20-year sentence since 2022. Last year, Comey filed a declaration in federal court seeking to bar the release of Epstein-related records in response to a Freedom of Information Act request. In the declaration, Comey said that the release of the records—which contained witness information and statements as well as business records—'could reasonably be expected to interfere' in any retrial of Maxwell, who unsuccessfully appealed her sex trafficking conviction and has petitioned the Supreme Court to vacate her conviction. U.S. District Judge Paul Gardephe upheld the FBI's denial of access to the bulk of the Epstein records. Influential right-wing figures have supported Comey's firing. '+1 for Blondi today,' Laura Loomer said on X, using a moniker for Attorney General Pam Bondi, who has been facing MAGA calls for her resignation over the decision to not release the Epstein files. Read More: Trump Urges Supporters to Move On From Epstein, as MAGA Conspiracists Demand Transparency Sen. Adam Schiff (D, Calif.) said in a video that Comey's firing amid the reignited Epstein controversy raises questions: 'Did they fire her because she's James Comey's daughter? That would be improper for one reason. Did they fire her because she was a prosecutor in the Epstein case? That would just feed into what the MAGA base is already suspicious of.'
