Man Threatened Doctor Who Cares For Gender Nonconforming Children, U.S. Says - The New York Times

U.S.|Man Threatened Doctor Who Cares For Gender Nonconforming Children, U.S. Says

A Texas antheral was arrested connected Friday connected a national complaint that helium near a dependable message connection threatening to termination a Boston doc who provides attraction to sex nonconforming children, the authorities said.

The man, Matthew Jordan Lindner, 38, of Comfort, Texas, was charged with 1 number of transmitting interstate threats, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office successful Massachusetts. He is being held without bail pending a tribunal proceeding adjacent week. If convicted, helium could look up to 5 years successful situation and 3 years of supervised released and a good of up to $250,000.

Efforts to scope a lawyer for Mr. Lindner precocious Friday were unsuccessful.

According to national prosecutors, mendacious accusation began to dispersed online successful August that doctors astatine Boston Children’s Hospital were providing hysterectomies and sex affirmation country to patients nether the property of 18. The infirmary does not execute those procedures connected minors, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said that connected Aug. 31, Mr. Lindner called the Boston-based National LGBTQIA+ Health Education Center and near the threatening dependable message for 1 of the center’s doctors.

Repeatedly utilizing profanity, Mr. Lindner said successful the message, “you’re each gonna burn,” according to prosecutors, adding that determination was “a radical of radical connected their mode to handle” the doctor. “You signed your ain warrant,” Mr. Lindner allegedly said, again naming the doctor. “Castrating our children. You’ve woken up capable people. And upset capable of us. And you signed your ain ticket.”

Mr. Lindner besides called 2 telephone numbers associated with a Rhode Island assemblage wherever the doc is simply a module subordinate and called a aesculapian signifier wherever the doc had antecedently worked, prosecutors said successful the transgression complaint.

The National LGBTQIA+ Health Education Center, which is portion of the Fenway Institute, provides acquisition programs and wellness attraction for the queer and transgender communities.

On Saturday, Fenway Health said it plans to proceed to cooperate with instrumentality enforcement officials to thwart threats oregon unit against doctors treating patients oregon families seeking care.

“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,” Fenway Health said successful a statement. “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 the doctor.”

The doc who received the menace was not publically named. Prosecutors said she is an advocator for gender-affirming attraction and the usage of puberty hormones and blockers.

Prosecutors said that telephone records had been utilized to place Mr. Lindner. They besides said that they had matched the dependable connected the telephone that threatened the doc with that connected videos that Mr. Lindner had antecedently posted connected Facebook.

Rachael S. Rollins, the U.S. lawyer successful Massachusetts, said successful a connection that she was committed to “vigorously” investigating and prosecuting radical who endanger members of the L.G.B.T.Q. community, including wellness attraction professionals.

“Death threats instill fearfulness and panic successful their targeted audiences,” Ms. Rollins said. “Mr. Lindner’s alleged behaviour — a decease menace — is based connected falsehoods and amounts to an enactment of workplace violence.”

Joseph R. Bonavolonta, peculiar cause successful complaint of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Boston Division, said successful a connection that the doc had been targeted due to the fact that she was caring for sex nonconforming children.

“No one,” helium said, “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.”