Man Charged After Threatening Merriam-Webster Over Use of “Sickening” Gender-Inclusive Dictionary Definitions

Rossmoor, California resident Jeremy David Hanson, 34, was arrested this week for a series of threats he made last year online toward Merriam-Webster over several of the company’s online dictionary definitions pertaining to gender.

Hanson — who was charged with one count of interstate communication of threats to commit violence in federal court — submitted multiple disturbing messages through the “Contact Us” feature on the company’s website and in comment sections for webpages for the definitions of “girl” and “woman,” per a criminal complaint on behalf of Merriam-Webster.

“It is absolutely sickening that Merriam-Webster now tells blatant lies and promotes anti-science propaganda,” Hanson reportedly wrote in an anonymous October 2 complaint under the entry for “female,” adding, “There is no such thing as ‘gender identity.’ The imbecile who wrote this entry should be hunted down and shot.”

The company’s online dictionary defintion for “female” includes, “of, relating to, or being the sex that typically has the capacity to bear young or produce eggs,” and “having a gender identity that is the opposite of male.”

A few days later, Merriam-Webster shuttered its offices in Springfield, Massachusetts and New York after Hanson allegedly left a different threat under a webpage for the definition of “girl,” this time using the alias @anonYmous and writing, “The moron who created this fake definition should be hunted down and shot. I am sick and tired of these cultural Marxists denying science and destroying the English Language. Merriam-Webster headquarters should be shot and bombed. Boys aren’t girls.”

Hanson also purportedly sent the following message through the company’s “Contact Us” page:

“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. It would be poetic justice to have someone storm your offices and shoot up the place, leaving none of you commies alive.”

Authorities were able to identify Hanson via his @anonYmous username by tracking the messages to an account connected to his family’s home, CNN reported.

If found guilty, Hanson could spend up to five years in prison, including three years of supervised release, while also facing a fine of $250,000.

“Everyone has a right to express their opinion, but repeatedly threatening to kill people, as has been alleged, takes it to a new level,” Special Agent with the FBI Boston Division Joseph R. Bonavolonta said. “We are always going to pursue individuals who try to intimidate and isolate members of our community by inciting violent, hateful acts. Threats to life are most certainly not protected speech and they cause real fear in victims.”