A transgender individual from Arkansas has been arrested for calling in fake bomb threats in Mississippi.
On January 31st, the Oxford Police Department were informed about a post on social media, mentioning multiple times that a bomb had placed in the Mississippi city, which serves as the home of the University of Mississippi, also known as “Ole Miss.”
According to reports, police officers, including a K9 unit, searched the area of Oxford mentioned in the online posts, and after a while, came to the conclusion that there was no bomb after all. The investigation then switched to finding out who was behind the posts to begin with.
Investigators determined that Lily Mestemacher, 29, a transgender individual who identifies as a woman, was behind the posts. Mestemacher is a resident of Conway, Arkansas, hundreds of miles away from Oxford.
An arrest warrant was subsequently issued to Mestemacher for the crime of false reporting of placing explosives that evening. They were then arrested by Conway Police, and extradited to Oxford on February 10th, where they were booked.
The transgender individual was taken in front of a Lafeyette County Justice Court judge for the initial bond hearing, and given a $50,000 bond for the alleged bomb threats.
Following the news breaking, a number of conservatives and others online were quick to mock the news and police for referring to Mestemacher as a woman. In a mugshot issued by Oxford Police, Mestemacher can be seen with a shock of long blonde hair, but also a very obvious beard, revealing they are a biological male.
Last year, the federal government seemed to confirm that transgender “women” still count as men for at least one purpose, when they announced that those who are born male must still register for the draft.
“US citizens or immigrants who are born male and changed their gender to female are still required to register,” the US Government said. On the other hand, “individuals who are born female and changed their gender to male are not required to register.”
This news and commentary by Jack Hadfield originally appeared on Valiant News.