A threat was called in to Boston Children’s Hospital on Friday, less than two weeks after the hospital received a bomb threat, police said.
Officer Andre Watson, a Boston Police Department spokesman, said the hospital reported the threat at 11:39 a.m. Friday. Watson said the hospital wasn’t evacuated, and details on the nature of the threat weren’t immediately available. It remains under investigation.
The hospital received a bomb threat on the night of Aug. 30, which was determined to be unfounded after responding officers found no explosive device.
Catherine Leavy of Westfield, Massachusetts, was arrested without incident and charged with one count of making a false bomb threat by telephone, according to charging documents filed in U.S. District Court for Massachusetts. She faces up to five years in prison.
FBI Special Agent Joseph R. Bonavolonta said at a news conference Thursday that the threat was one of “well over a dozen” against Boston Children’s Hospital. He said authorities are investigating others.
Boston Children’s Hospital had been subjected to “a sustained harassment campaign based on dissemination of information online” about trans health care at the hospital.
Rachael Rollins, the U.S. attorney for Massachusetts, said at the news conference. A caller to the hospital on Aug. 30 is alleged to have said: “There is a bomb on the way to the hospital. You better evacuate everybody, you sickos.”
Several children’s hospitals, most notably Boston Children’s, have been the targets of a far-right harassment campaign for months, led by anti-trans influencers with millions of collective followers who have spread misinformation about the hospitals’ gender-affirming treatment for minors. The influencers have similarly waged anti-LGBTQ campaigns against schools and libraries that have been featured on conservative news programs.
The FBI says there have been “well over a dozen” threats to Boston Children’s Hospital. They say they are investigating others as part of this anti-trans harassment campaign.
“Any threats of violence against our employees, doctors, or patients — and the hate speech that is inciting these types of acts — must be fully dealt with by law enforcement. We are deeply relieved there was no bomb found on site, but this type of extremist behavior must end, and we condemn it in the strongest terms.”
“The safety and security of our staff, our patients, and their families remain our top priority and we have put in place additional security measures to continue our lifesaving health care. We will do everything we can to ensure our people are protected and that those responsible for these threats are brought to justice,” the statement said.
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