Transgender teacher convicted of threatening 'murder spree' at school, media bury gender identity

A Virginia jury found transgender former Loudoun County substitute teacher Hadyn Dollery guilty on "two counts of threatening to injure or kill a person, one count of making threats on school grounds, and one count of threatening to damage a building," charges that bring up to 25 years in prison combined, Loudoun Now reported.

Prosecutors showed evidence that 19-year-old Dollery, able to teach under a state law requiring only a high school diploma to be a substitute, threatened a "murder spree" at John Champe High School, where Dollery taught at the time, after the teacher's student boyfriend broke up with him.

The media have obfuscated Dollery's gender identity as a woman, with various reports referring to both Dollery and his ex as either men or women.

Assistant Public Defender Tamara Lazarus identified Dollery as "a transgender woman undergoing hormone therapy" in the context of Dollery's incarceration conditions, the Loudoun Times-Mirror reported in June. 

The newspaper first referred to Dollery as "she," using Dollery's preferred name "Sophie," and to "her ex-girlfriend’s house" in reporting on the conviction, apparently using the ex's gender identity as well.

Other reports simply note that Dollery goes by Sophie but refer to him with male pronouns. WJLA left out all mentions of sex, including that of Dollery's ex, describing that victim only as a "friend," citing the criminal complaint, which also mentions Dollery's "kill list."

The threats were reported to authorities through the Safe2Talk app, according to WJLA.

Defense attorney Mary Swanson told the jury that prosecutors were mischaracterizing Dollery's Discord messages to the ex, stemming from a "teenage love triangle" involving Dollery, the ex-boyfriend and students whom the ex had previously dated, which Swanson deemed "teenage drama […] blown out of proportion," Loudoun Now reported.

Dollery told the ex "he planned to kill the ex, members of his own and of his ex’s family, go on a 'murder spree at your school,' and to cannibalize one of the victims after killing them," the media outlet paraphrased. The teacher also threatened to burn down the ex's home.

The convict is housed alone at the Loudoun County Adult Detention Center, the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office said.

The wealthy Virginia suburb of Washington, D.C. has been a magnet for transgender controversies in recent years.

The state Supreme Court ordered Loudoun's school district to reinstate a teacher suspended for opposing its proposed preferred pronoun policy. 

The district arrested a father at a board meeting when he tried to raise the alleged sexual assault of his daughter by a male student in a skirt, who allegedly groped another female student and held her against her will after the district quietly transferred him to another school.

Then-Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) launched an investigation after two boys alleged a female student who identifies as a boy entered their locker room and recorded them.