Man charged with threatening doctor caring for trans patients, LGBTQ kids - The Washington Post

According to the statement, Lindner said successful his connection that “there’s a radical of radical connected their mode to handle” the doc and that “you signed your ain warrant.” His connection besides told the recipient to “sleep well” and said, “You’re each gonna burn.” He accused her of castrating children, according to the statement.

Lindner, of Comfort, Tex., was charged with 1 number of transmitting interstate threats, and volition look successful national tribunal successful Boston astatine an unspecified date, the connection said. If convicted, helium could look a situation condemnation of up to 5 years, up to 3 years of supervised merchandise and a good of up to $250,000, the connection said.

Lindner’s alleged unfortunate was not identified but was described by prosecutors arsenic a doc who cares for transgender and gender-nonconforming patients astatine the National LGBTQIA+ Health Education Center, which provides acquisition programs and wellness attraction for intersexual and sex minorities and is portion of the Fenway Institute.

Prosecutors said the alleged menace was made successful the aforesaid period the Boston Children’s Hospital, which is little than 1 mile from the center, was targeted successful a harassment run implicit the attraction it was providing for transgender patients. Inaccurate accusation was spreading online astir the procedures it performs, authorities said.

“The words utilized present bash not magnitude to idiosyncratic simply expressing their discontent oregon engaging successful a heated debate,” United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins said of Lindner successful the statement. “Mr. Lindner’s alleged behaviour — a decease menace — is based connected falsehoods and amounts to an enactment of workplace violence.”

“No 1 should person to unrecorded successful fearfulness of unit due to the fact that of who they are, what benignant of enactment they do, wherever they are from, oregon what they believe,” Joseph R. Bonavolonta, peculiar cause successful complaint of the FBI’s Boston division, added successful the statement.

The Washington Post was incapable to scope Lindner connected Sunday morning. The Associated Press reported Saturday that it was unclear whether Lindner is represented by an attorney.

Fenway Health, which operates the Fenway Institute, said it would proceed cooperating with instrumentality enforcement to combat threats against health-care providers and the families who usage their services.

“As the antagonistic rhetoric surrounding the LGBTQIA+ assemblage — and transgender and sex divers radical successful peculiar — continues to escalate, attacks connected aesculapian professionals who supply sex affirming wellness attraction are connected the rise,” a spokesperson for the enactment said successful a connection to The Post. “We are grateful for the speedy enactment of instrumentality enforcement successful helping to enactment a halt to the hate-fueled threats and harassment directed astatine this doctor.”

Lindner’s lawsuit is 1 of the much utmost examples of a long-running harassment run against aesculapian providers who enactment with transgender children and adolescents, which escalated successful August.

On Aug. 30, 1 time earlier Lindner’s alleged threat, Boston Children’s Hospital — the archetypal successful the federation to found its ain pediatric and teen transgender wellness programme — was forced by authorities to fastener down aft it received an anonymous weaponry threat, which turned retired to beryllium fake. A 37-year-old pistillate from Westfield, Mass., was later arrested and charged by national prosecutors successful transportation with the hoax. According to the FBI, the telephone was among dozens of hoax threats received by Boston Children’s Hospital successful caller months.

The infirmary said its employees were harassed aft conservative influencers targeted them successful mendacious and misleading societal media posts, directing overmuch of their vitriol astatine the hospital’s Gender Multispecialty Service program. The programme specializes successful caring for young radical with sex dysphoria, the information successful which a person’s sex does not align with the enactment they were assigned astatine birth.

Leading aesculapian groups, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, enactment providing gender-affirming attraction for young radical experiencing sex dysphoria.

Transgender aesculapian attraction — peculiarly for younger radical — has go a contentious contented for blimpish activists and politicians, who successful caller months person intensified their criticism of gender-affirming country and therapy, and person sought to curtail access to such services.

Derek Hawkins and Meena Venkataramanan contributed to this report.