25/04/2022
LGBTQIA advocates have long expressed the view that homophobic and transphobic people are dangerous, violent and unable to control their emotional problems. The Independent newspaper reports that the evidence is stacking up in the US case of thirty four year old right wing extremist Jeremy David Hanson, who sent a litany of death threats to organisations as diverse as the oldest dictionary in the US, Merriam Webster, the American Civil Liberties Union, University Professors and a Rabbi. The court in Massachusettes heard that the FBI investigation had been successful in identifying Hanson as a dangerous man full of hatred based on race, religion, sexuality, gender and politics. His email threats were full of rants about the mythical concept of “Cultural Marxism”, a keynote conspiracy belief of the far right. Boston FBI Investigation lead Joseph Bonavolotna said “Threats to life are most certainly not protected speech”. Discussing the case online, many people welcomed the possible sentence of five years inprisonment. But one gay man tweeted “Hanson is clearly clinically insane, as are a lot of people with his views. He needs locking up under constant guard and massive sedation for years to come”.
