California man admits threatening Merriam-Webster over definitions of ‘woman’ and ‘girl’
Jeremy David Hanson sent messages stating that company’s headquarters ‘should be shot up and bombed’
The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday
Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US
Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US
A California man pleaded guilty to threatening dictionary company Merriam-Webster after the firm changed its definitions of “woman”, “female” and “girl.”
Authorities say that Jeremy David Hanson sent violent messages to the company last October stating that their headquarters “should be shot up and bombed.”
Prosecutors also say that he wrote that editors involved in creating the definitions should be “hunted down and shot.”
As a result of the threats, the company closed offices in Springfield, Massachusetts, and New York for five days.
Hanson first wrote to the company stating his opposition to their adding gender identity to their definition of “female.”
“It is absolutely sickening that Merriam-Webster now tells blatant lies and promotes anti-science propaganda. There is no such thing as `gender identity.’ The imbecile who wrote this entry should be hunted down and shot,” he wrote.
He also opposed the company’s definition of “girl”, writing, “I am sick and tired of these cultural Marxists denying science and destroying the English Language. Merriam-Webster headquarters should be shot up and bombed. Boys aren’t girls.”
Hanson also admitted to sending threatening communications to various companies, politicians, and others, including the Walt Disney Co, the Governor of California and the Mayor of New York City, a New York rabbi, and professors at Loyola Marymount University.
The Justice Department says that he pleaded guilty on 8 September in federal court in Springfield, Massachusetts, to making threats to commit anti-LGBTQ violence.
He will be sentenced on 5 January 2023.
“Hate-filled threats and intimidations have no place in our society,” said United States Attorney Rachael S 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. Perpetrators will be identified, arrested, and held accountable in federal court.”