Gay California State Senator Receives Bomb Threat
An online user sent an email to a local media outlet threatening to bomb Scott Wiener's house and shoot up his Sacramento office.
A gay California state senator received a death threat from someone calling him a “pedophile” and a “groomer,” claiming they had placed bombs at his home, and threatening to shoot up his Sacramento office.
State Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) attributes the threats made against him to disinformation spread over social media platforms, fueled by anger over his stances on LGBTQ rights.
“Early this morning, I was informed by the San Francisco Standard and the police that someone had issued a bomb threat against me, listing my specific home address and also threatening to shoot up my Capitol office,” Wiener said in a statement posted to Twitter. “The email said ‘we will fucking kill you’ and called me a pedophile and groomer.”
According to the San Francisco Standard, the email containing the threats was sent to the paper by someone using the name Zamina Tataro.
“In 20 minutes, I am willing to die,” the email read. The email’s subject line was: “Scott Wiener will die today.” The author then claimed in the email that Wiener was a “pedophile” and accused him of seeking to “groom” children. The Standard declined comment on the situation.
San Francisco police searched Wiener’s home but did not find any explosive devices, reports BuzzFeed News.
In a statement, Wiener attributed the threats to his work to end discrimination against LGBTQ people in the criminal justice system and his support for making California a sanctuary state for minors and their families fleeing states that seek to prosecute parents for allowing their trans-identifying children to either medically or socially transition.
Wiener specifically singled out Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist and YouTuber and co-founder of Turning Point USA, who last month claimed that Wiener had reduced jail time for people who molested children. That comment appears to reference to a bill proposed by Wiener to reform California’s sex offender registry and equalize punishments for offenses committed by heterosexual individuals and those committed by homosexual individuals.
He also called out Georgia Republican U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene for calling him a “communist groomer” on social media due to his support of gender-affirming care. Greene, for her part, has already introduced a bill in Congress seeking to punish doctors who provide such care to minors with a sentence of up to 25 years in prison.
“This latest wave of death threats against me relates to my work to end discrimination against LGBTQ people in the criminal justice system and my work to ensure the safety of transgender children and their families,” Wiener said in a statement. “Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and MAGA activist Charlie Kirk recently tweeted homophobic lies about me, falsely accusing me of supporting pedophiles and child ‘mutilation.'”
Wiener also appeared to imply that rhetoric like that used by Greene and Kirk is linked to a recent spate of threats or acts of violence directed at LGBTQ venues, especially those with drag shows. That includes the Colorado Springs LGBTQ nightclub Club Q, which was the site of a mass shooting that killed five and injured at least 19 others last month.
“The extreme homophobic and transphobic rhetoric that has escalated on social media and right-wing media outlets has real world impacts. It leads to harassment, stalking, threats, and violence against our community,” Wiener said in his statement. “People are dying as a result. Responsible political leaders on the right must call it out and stop tolerating it.”
Wiener has championed some legislation that rankles social conservatives, such as a bill to ban genital surgeries on intersex infants — which ironically, would still be permitted under bills proposed by Greene and other Republicans that ban gender-affirming care for transgender-identifying minors — as well as bills to repeal HIV criminalization statutes and protect sex workers from being arrested when reporting crimes or when loitering.
When asked to comment on Wiener’s allegations, a spokesperson for the congresswoman told a reporter for BuzzFeed News: “That’s ridiculous, he’s ridiculous, and you’re ridiculous for reporting it.”
“The bomb threat against Senator Wiener is another clear indication that the hateful rhetoric and lies from far-right, anti-LGBTQ+ politicians and pundits have dangerous consequences. They aren’t playing political games. This is not an issue with two sides,” Tony Hoang, the group’s executive director, said in a statement. “They’re inciting violence against Senator Wiener and the LGBTQ+ community, and their actions and words should be treated as such.
“Silence is not an option,” added Hoang. “Responsible leaders, regardless of political affiliation or ideology, must reject and condemn these hateful lies about Senator Wiener and LGBTQ+ people. To do any less is to be complicit in the violence they incite.”
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