Woman faces federal charge for calling in a false bomb threat to a Boston hospital providing gender-affirming care

By Sonia Moghe, CNN

A woman charged with calling in a false bomb threat to Boston Children’s Hospital, which has been hit with a barrage of threats linked to its gender-affirming care for children, told authorities this week that she called in the hoax threat, according to a criminal complaint.

Catherine Leavy was arrested Thursday and charged with one count of calling in a false bomb threat. At a detention hearing Friday, Leavy was released on bond, according to court filings. She must use GPS monitoring and stay away from the hospital, per the filings.

A criminal complaint states that after investigators linked the phone number where the threat originated to Leavy, agents then interviewed her at her Westfield, Massachusetts, home on Thursday.

“During the interview Leavy expressed disapproval of (Boston Children’s Hospital) on multiple occasions,” the complaint states.

US Attorney for the District of Massachusetts Rachael Rollins said at a press conference Thursday that she would not comment on a motive for the alleged hoax bomb threat but said, “Generally, healthcare providers who support and offer care to gender-diverse and transgendered individuals deserve to do so without fear.”

The complaint states that when agents further questioned Leavy about her beliefs regarding the hospital, she admitted that she called the hospital on Aug. 30 and made the threat.

“Leavy stated that she had no plan or intention to actually bomb (Boston Children’s Hospital),” the complaint states.

The hospital received a threatening phone call on August 30 which said, in part, “There is a bomb on the way to the hospital. You’d better evacuate everybody, you sickos,” Rollins said.

The threat led to the hospital and surrounding areas being placed on lockdown and a bomb squad being dispatched, Rollins said, and it was determined “no explosive devices were located at the hospital.”

Investigators were able to identify a cell phone account that made the call and linked it to Leavy “through court authorized search warrants and other techniques,” according to Rollins. The phone used to make the alleged threat was recovered when Leavy was arrested, she said.

While multiple threats have been called into the hospital, at this time Leavy is only being charged in connection with one call, Rollins said.

The 37-year-old appeared before a magistrate judge for an initial appearance Thursday afternoon, Rollins said, and was held pending Friday’s detention hearing.

CNN is seeking comment from Leavy’s attorney but has not had a reply yet.

Boston Children’s Hospital, which calls itself “home to the first pediatric and adolescent transgender health program in the United States,” has said it faced a “large volume” of threats of violence for offering such care.

Gender-affirming care is medically necessary, evidence-based care using a multidisciplinary approach to help a person transition from their assigned gender — the one they were designated at birth — to their affirmed gender — the gender by which they want to be known.

Major medical associations — including the American Medical Association, the American Psychiatric Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry — agree gender-affirming care is clinically appropriate for children and adults.

Misinformation spread online has suggested Boston Children’s performed gender-affirming genital surgeries on young children. The hospital says it provides overall care to children who identify as transgender or nonbinary, but surgeries are performed only on consenting adults.

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CNN’s Jen Christensen contributed to this report.