The Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School in Washington, DC. (Getty/ The Washington Post/ Marvin Joseph)
A woman has pleaded guilty to threatening to bomb a Catholic school, killing children, teachers and nuns, because it supports its LGBT+ alumni.
In May 2019, sister Mary Berchmans, president emerita of Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School in Washington, DC, announced in a letter to former students that the Catholic school’s alumnae magazine would publish news of same-sex marriages.
She wrote: “Recently, a Visitation friend invited me to reflect upon what it means to love Jesus in relationship with our LGBT+ alumnae… The Church is clear in its teaching on same-sex marriages.
“But, it is equally clear in its teaching that we are all children of God, that we each have dignity and are worthy of respect and love.”
Berchmans said that from autumn 2019, the magazine would “publish news of our alumnae’s same-sex unions, along with all updates our alums choose to share with their classmates”.
Two days later, the Catholic school received at least two phone calls from a woman named Sonia Tabizada, who is not a graduate of the school, making violent threats over its support of its LGBT+ alumni.
According to court documents Tabizada, from California, said in the first phone call at 5.15am: “Hey motherf**kers, I’m going to burn that f**king church, I’m going to bomb it, b***h!
“I’m going to f**king kill you guys. I’m going to send my f**king soldiers, motherf**kers.
“Remove the f**king gay motherf**kers from your magazine, or I’m going to f**king kill your kids. That’s a promise.”
Around a minute later in another call, she allegedly said: “What kind of pervert priests do you guys have running the show? Nobody cares for those girls? You’re crushing the innocent, motherf**king a**hole.
“I’m gonna f**king blow up the school and call it a mission from God. You guys are going to get terrorism within your f**king school, motherf**ker. And you’re going to be guilty. And I warned you!”
While Tabizada, 36, initially pleaded not guilty, she has now pleaded guilty in federal court to “intentionally obstructing persons in the enjoyment of their free exercise of religious beliefs” by threatening to bomb the Catholic school.
According to the Department of Justice, Tabizada faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. Her sentencing is scheduled for 23 March.
Michael R Sherwin, acting US attorney for the District of Columbia, said in a statement: “The defendant’s violent threats were directed at the free exercise of a private school community’s religious beliefs.
“An attack upon the free exercise of any person or group’s religious beliefs is an attack upon the civil rights of every citizen.
“Today’s guilty plea is part of my office’s commitment to ensuring that all District citizens can safely exercise their religious beliefs and that all of their civil rights are protected.”