By David N. Young and Jeannette Andruss
Federal authorities arrested a Rossmoor resident this week saying he sent messages threatening anti-LGBTQ violence targeting Massachusetts-based dictionary maker Merriam-Webster, Inc. and other institutions and individuals.
Jeremy David Hanson, 34, faces one count of interstate communication of threats to commit violence and is due to appear in federal court in Springfield, Mass. on April 29.
“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,” United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins said in a press release.
Hanson faces up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
The FBI alleges that in October 2021, Hanson threatened to plant pipe bombs in the offices of Merriam-Webster over definitions in its dictionaries of “boy,” “woman” and “girl.” The messages, submitted as comments on the company’s webpages or messages via a “contact us” form, are contained in a 25-page criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Springfield, Mass. on April 12.
The complaint also quotes Hanson’s mother as saying he “suffers from developmental disorders.”
The complaint claims Hanson posted a comment on the webpage definition of “female” that read: “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.”
Another message allegedly read: “You [sic] headquarters should be shot up and bombed. It is sickening that you have caved to the cultural Marxist, anti-science tranny 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.”
The FBI says the threatening activity prompted the Springfield and New York offices of Merriam-Webster to close for five business days.
Hanson’s threat to Merriam-Webster is one of many he has allegedly made in recent years, according to the criminal complaint. The complaint links him to sending messages via “contact us” pages on company and institutional websites, tying most of his threats to gender and sometimes race.
In one example, Hanson allegedly targeted Hasbro Toys over one if its most popular products, Mr. Potato Head. A message tied to Hanson read: “Mr. Potato Head is a male,” and “the only good tranny is a dead one.”
According to the FBI’s complaint, Hanson’s alleged targets were varied, and numerous. He’s accused of threatening the president of a school board in Wisconsin, professors at Loyola Marymount University, The Walt Disney Co., the ACLU, Amnesty International USA, DC Comics, a New York rabbi, Land O’Lakes, University of North Texas, and USA Today.
Hanson is accused of sending an email on March 21 threatening to kill Dr. Tim Nordin, President of the Eau Claire, Wisconsin School Board, and his family.
Eau Claire Police say the threatening message was sent to Dr. Nordin via the school district website’s “contact us” page, which landed in Dr. Nordin’s email inbox.
“I am going to kill you and shoot up your next school-board meeting for promoting the horrific, radical transgender agenda. It’s now time to declare war on you pedos[sic]. I am going to kill you and your entire family,” authorities said the message read.
Teri Piper Thompson, communications manager for Eau Claire schools, confirmed to ENE that the school district’s IT department worked with law enforcement authorities to trace the message to an IP address at a Rossmoor residence, where Hanson apparently lives with his mother.
Piper Thompson confirmed the message triggered a beefing up of security within the Eau Claire system, and especially at school board meetings. She said Dr. Nordin notified authorities immediately after reading the threatening email on March 21.
In a published statement following the incident, the Eau Claire School Board President said the threats “anger me to my core.” Nordin’s statement suggests the threat had political overtones, having been involved a re-election bid at the time the threat was received.
“They are quite literally trying to drive us into submission,” said Nordin in the public statement. “I implore each of you,” said Nordin, “to send a message that Eau Claire cannot be intimidated. Our schools are too important to cede to fear.”
While Nordin recently won his re-election, school officials say they have no idea why Hanson might have targeted Eau Claire.
Piper Thompson said, during the pandemic, like many school boards around the country, Eau Claire experienced citizens protesting in opposition to safety protocols as well as approaches to classroom instruction including those regarding gender.
Police continue to investigate the Eau Claire incident.
Hanson Interviewed by FBI as far back as 2015
The criminal complaint against Hanson reveals that he’s long been under federal scrutiny as FBI Special Agent Casey Hunter Anderson alleges Hanson threatened a variety of institutions and organizations using internet-based communications.
According to the complaint, Hanson and his mother were first interviewed back in 2015 over threatening messages. The FBI said in the complaint it was then that their investigators initially interviewed Hanson in the presence of his mother and a medical psychiatric resident at UC Irvine Medical Center. The resident had determined Hanson was fit to be interviewed. The complaint said in those interviews, Hanson expressed “remorse.”
According to the complaint, Hanson’s mother told investigators in 2021 that he was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome and has the maturity of a 16-year-old. She said her son never intended to carry out any of the threats. In the complaint, his mom said a change in medication and the stress of the pandemic have taken a toll on her son.
The mother is quoted in the complaint as saying that her son was “fixated on transgender issues” and is prone to “verbal hyperbole.”
The complaint not only lists the incidents, but also lays out the detailed cyber detective work, including specific software used to track Hanson’s IP address and devices he has allegedly used to make the threats.
