Reuters: School boards get death threats amid rage over race, gender, mask policies. “Local school officials across the United States are being inundated with threats of violence and other hostile messages from anonymous harassers nationwide, fueled by anger over culture-war issues. Reuters found 220 examples of such intimidation in a sampling of districts.”
University of Maryland: UMD Graduate Students Create AI-Powered Tool to Extract Threatening Language. “A paper recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) explains the science behind a new, online tool that can help users determine what share of a speech, article or other text uses threatening language.”
Reuters: “We will not yield,” French lawmaker says after death threats over COVID vaccine pass. “French lawmakers said on Monday they would not be cowed by death threats that dozens of them received over a bill that will require people to show proof of vaccination to go to a restaurant or cinema or take the train. The new law, which would remove the option of showing a negative test result instead of having the jabs, has the backing of most parties and is almost certain to be passed by the lower house in a vote late on Monday or early Tuesday.”
Associated Press: Self-Described German Soldier in COVID Threat Video Arrested. “A man identifying himself as a German army soldier who recorded a threatening video with demands including the removal of coronavirus restrictions was arrested on Thursday, police said.”
Associated Press: Anti-vaccine group targets California’s medical director. “The president of California’s medical board, which issues medical licenses and disciplines doctors, says a group of anti-vaccine activists stalked her at home and followed her to her office — where four men confronted her in a dark parking garage in what she described as a terrifying experience. Kristina Lawson, a former mayor of Walnut Creek who was appointed to the board by former Gov. Jerry Brown, said in social media on Wednesday she grew concerned Monday after she noticed the people in a white SUV parked near her home and saw someone flying a drone over her house.”
Times of Israel: ‘It goes to some very dark places’: Health expert on rising threats against her. “A top health official has spoken out about the threats and abuse being directed at her, days after she was assigned a bodyguard over what authorities believe to be an increased level of danger to her safety. Dr. Sharon Alroy-Preis, the Health Ministry’s head of public services and a top COVID adviser to the government, has been repeatedly threatened by anti-vaccine activists and conspiracy theorists who view her as the public face of the health system’s inoculation effort.”
CBC: Noose left by COVID-19 protesters outside her home outrages Alberta MLA. “A northern Alberta MLA says a group of people protesting COVID-19 restrictions crossed a line when they gathered outside her private residence and left behind a noose marked with a violent threat. Tracy Allard says a protest began Sunday afternoon outside her home in Grande Prairie and soon grew to about 30 people. She said RCMP were called and the crowd dispersed about 90 minutes after police arrived.”
Boing Boing: Survey finds 22% of scientists who do media interviews about COVID get violent threats. “Nature surveyed 300 scientists who’ve done media interviews about COVID. The results had some surprisingly positive notes — 85% said ‘their experiences of engaging with the media were always or mostly positive, even if they were harassed afterwards’. But as you might expect, a significant chunk described some ghastly abuse. Fully 15% got death threats, and 22% “received threats of physical or sexual violence.”
Politico: Garland taps FBI in response to ‘disturbing spike’ in threats against educators. “Attorney General Merrick Garland on Monday ordered federal law enforcement authorities to huddle with local leaders in the coming weeks to address what the nation’s top prosecutor called a recent ‘disturbing spike in harassment, intimidation, and threats of violence’ against educators and school board members.”
Business Insider: An Alabama man who called himself the ‘vaccine police’ told pharmacists at a Missouri Walmart that they will be ‘executed’ if they continued giving COVID-19 shots. “A man, who calls himself the ‘vaccine police,’ entered a Walmart in Springfield, Missouri to put staff ‘on public notice,’ telling pharmacists they could be ‘executed’ if they carry out COVID-19 vaccine shots, according to reports.”
The Guardian: Met police investigate anti-vaxxer as speech sparks fears for safety of medics. “Fears have been expressed for the safety of doctors, nurses and other healthcare staff after they were targeted by anti-vaccine activists. Police are investigating comments made by Kate Shemirani, a former nurse who has been struck off for using her position to spread Covid misinformation, during the latest anti-lockdown rally at Trafalgar Square in central London on Saturday.”
The Scotsman: A backlash is growing against sexist abuse on social media that gives me hope – Laura Waddell. “What the most serious incidents I’ve experienced have in common is misogyny. Every time I’ve received online abuse I can’t easily ignore, implicating my physical safety, it has been tinged with misogynist language. Like domestic abusers, online abusers evoke fear and intimidation. That’s bad enough. But what can be even more demoralising for the victim is seeing others excuse aggression towards women. No matter how blatantly intimidating the missives, on every occasion I’ve been seriously abused online, representatives of the old boys’ network have appeared to congregate around the offender.”
NBC News: ‘I do not feel safe’: Kansas GOP mayor resigns after threats over backing mask mandate. “A Republican mayor in western Kansas announced in a letter to city officials and on social media Tuesday that she is resigning, effective immediately, because of threats she has received after she publicly supported a mask mandate. Mayor Joyce Warshaw of Dodge City said she was concerned about her safety after being met with aggression, including threats via phone and email, after she was quoted in a USA Today article on Friday supporting the mandate, The Dodge City Globe reported.”
US Department of Justice: Hacker Collective Member Who Made Online Threats Against Schools and Airline Sentenced to Nearly 8 Years in Federal Prison. “A North Carolina man who engaged in a series of cyber and swatting attacks, including sending bogus threats of shootings and bombings to schools in the United States and United Kingdom, was sentenced today to 95 months in federal prison.”
