Man upset by gender definitions threatened to bomb Merriam-Webster's offices, federal prosecutors say

Federal prosecutors say a California man who was upset by Merriam-Webster's inclusive gender definitions threatened to bomb the publisher's offices and sent "threatening and despicable" messages targeting the LGBTQ community.

Jeremy David Hanson, 34, was arrested Tuesday and charged with one count of interstate communication of threats to commit violence in connection to anti-LGBTQ online threats made against the company in October, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts announced Friday.

The company closed its offices in Springfield and New York City for five business days as a result of the threats, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Merriam-Webster did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Prosecutors say Hanson used the "Contact Us" page on Merriam-Webster's website to send threatening messages and comments "demonstrating bias against specific gender identities." Under the handle @anonYmous, he also made threats in the comment sections of webpages for the word entries "Girl" and "Woman," the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

The comments suggest Hanson was angered by the inclusion of "gender identity" in Merriam-Webster's definitions, prosecutors say.

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Merriam-Webster has in recent years updated definitions to be more inclusive of language surrounding gender identities, including adding "they" as a nonbinary, singular pronoun in 2019.

Hanson is also accused of sending threatening messages to the website's "Contact Us" page, including one that said the "headquarters should be shot up and bombed."

"It would be poetic justice to have someone storm your offices and shoot up the place," he wrote, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

"Hate-filled threats and intimidations have no place in our society,” said U.S. Attorney Rachael S. Rollins in Friday's statement, adding that the "threatening and despicable messages related to the LGBTQ community ... were intended to evoke fear and division."

An investigation also found that Hanson sent related threats to others, including the American Civil Liberties Union, Amnesty International, Land O’ Lakes, Hasbro, Inc., IGN Entertainment, the president of the University of North Texas, two professors at Loyola Marymount University and a New York City rabbi, according to the statement.

Hanson was released on conditions after an initial federal court appearance, prosecutors said. He is set to return to court on April 29. His charge carries a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000.

It was not immediately clear if Hanson had retained a lawyer.

Contact News Now Reporter Christine Fernando at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter at @christinetfern.