Bomb Threat At Boston Children's Follows Libs Of TikTok Threats

BOSTON, MA — A bomb threat briefly closed streets around Boston Children's Hospital Tuesday, which follows a campaign against the hospital by a popular anti-LGBTQ social media account.

Boston police closed Longwood and Brookline avenues around 9 p.m. Tuesday after someone called in the bomb threat, according to police. The streets were reopened by around 10 p.m.

Boston Children's was recently the target of the right-wing social media force Libs Of TikTok, which alerted its 1.3 million Twitter followers about the hospital's transgender health program earlier this month. The account also tweeted false information about what treatments the health program offers.

The account's followers flooded the hospital with threats of violence, and the campaign against Boston Children's coincided with Libs Of TikTok being permanently banned from Facebook. The account is still active on Twitter.

"We condemn these attacks in the strongest possible terms, and we reject the false narrative upon which they are based. We are working with law enforcement to protect our clinicians, staff, patients, families and the broader Boston Children's community and hold the offenders accountable," the hospital said in an Aug. 16 statement.

A Washington Post investigation into Libs of TikTok earlier this year revealed that its founder is Chaya Raichik, and the account has largely been focused on targeting LGTBQ people since its founding in April 2021.