A Texas man was arrested Friday on a federal charge that he left a voicemail message threatening to kill a Boston doctor who provides care to gender-nonconforming children, authorities said.
The man, Matthew Jordan Lindner, 38, of Comfort, Texas, was charged with one count of transmitting interstate threats, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts. He is being held without bail pending a court hearing next week. If convicted, he could face up to five years in prison and three years of supervised released and a fine of up to $250,000.
According to federal prosecutors, false information began to spread online in August that doctors at Boston Children’s Hospital were providing hysterectomies and gender affirmation surgery to patients younger than 18. The hospital does not perform those procedures on minors, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said that on Aug. 31, Lindner called the Boston-based National LGBTQIA+ Health Education Center and left the threatening voicemail for one of the center’s doctors.
Repeatedly using profanity, Lindner said in the message, “you’re all gonna burn,” according to prosecutors, adding that there was “a group of people on their way to handle” the doctor. “You signed your own warrant,” Lindner allegedly said, again naming the doctor. “Castrating our children. You’ve woken up enough people. And upset enough of us. And you signed your own ticket.”
Lindner also called two phone numbers associated with a Rhode Island university where the doctor is a faculty member and called a medical practice where the doctor had previously worked, prosecutors said in the criminal complaint.
The National LGBTQIA+ Health Education Center, which is part of the Fenway Institute, provides educational programs and health care for the queer and transgender communities.
On Saturday, Fenway Health said it plans to continue to cooperate with law enforcement officials to thwart threats or violence against doctors treating patients or families seeking care.
“As the negative rhetoric surrounding the LGBTQIA+ community — and transgender and gender diverse people in particular — continues to escalate, attacks on medical professionals who provide gender-affirming health care are on the rise,” Fenway Health said in a statement. “We are grateful for the quick action of law enforcement in helping to put a stop to the hate-fueled threats and harassment directed at the doctor.”
This article originally appeared in The New York Times .