A California man was arrested Tuesday after allegedly making violent threats to Merriam-Webster for its updated dictionary definitions on gender-related topics.
Jeremy David Hanson, 34, was charged with one count of interstate communication of threats to commit violence after sending anonymous messages threatening to bomb the company’s offices and shoot everyone inside, according to the Department of Justice.
“Hate-filled threats and intimidations have no place in our society,” said U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins. “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. 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.”
The company had received several threats through its “Contact Us” website page from Oct. 2 to Oct. 8, 2021, which authorities later linked to Hanson, police said. The messages expressed outrage at the company’s updated gender definitions, such as a new entry for “female” that said “having a gender identity that is the opposite of male” and condemned the dictionary for promoting the “anti-science … agenda.”
“You [sic] headquarters should be shot up and bombed. 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,” he allegedly wrote in one message. “It would be poetic justice to have someone storm your offices and shoot up the place, leaving none of you commies alive.”
Merriam-Webster closed two of its offices in Massachusetts and New York for five business days and reported the messages to the FBI last October, according to the DOJ. The investigation uncovered several similar threats to the American Civil Liberties Union and Amnesty International, although it’s not clear whether those messages are connected to Hanson.
“Everyone has a right to express their opinion, but repeatedly threatening to kill people, as has been alleged, takes it to a new level,” said Joseph Bonavolonta, the special agent in charge of the FBI Boston Division. “Threats to life are most certainly not protected speech, and they cause real fear in victims. Rest assured, the FBI will do everything we can to bring to justice anyone who commits these criminal acts.”
Hanson was conditionally released ahead of his trial and will appear in federal court Friday. If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000.
Merriam-Webster did not respond to a request for comment by the Washington Examiner.
Reporting by The Washington Examiner.
