A California man was arrested this week for making anti-LGBTQ threats against dictionary publisher Merriam-Webster.
The Department of Justice announced on Friday that Jeremy David Hanson, 34, of Rossmoor, has been charged with one count of interstate communication of threats to commit violence. Back in October, Rossmoor allegedly sent a series of “threatening messages and comments demonstrating bias against specific gender identities” to Merriam-Webster through its “Contact Us” page.
Rossmoor issued threats in the comments section of particular word entries, including those for “girl” and “woman.”
“It is absolutely sickening that Merriam-Webster now tells blatant lies and promotes anti-science propaganda,” his comment read. “There is no such thing as ‘gender identity.’ The imbecile who wrote this entry should be hunted down and shot.”
Rossmoor subsequently threatened to “bomb” the Merriam-Webster’s offices “for lying.”
“You [sic] headquarters should be shot up and bombed,” he wrote “It is sickening that you have caved to the cultural Marxist, anti-science tranny [sic] agenda and altered the definition of ‘female’ as part of the Left’s efforts to corrupt and degrade the English language and deny reality. You evil Marxists should all be killed. It would be poetic justice to have someone storm your offices and shoot up the place, leaving none of you commies alive.”
Hanson, who faces a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison, is scheduled to appear in federal court in Springfield on April 29.
“Hate-filled threats and intimidations have no place in our society,” United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins said in a press release. “We believe Hanson sent a multitude of anonymous threatening and despicable messages related to the LGBTQ community that were intended to evoke fear and division.”
Rollins added, “My office and our law enforcement partners will not tolerate threats against members of our communities, no matter what corner of the internet they’re sent from. Perpetrators will be identified, arrested, and held accountable in federal court.”
