A transgender researcher at the University of Washington is facing severe backlash after appearing to threaten the lives of conservative activists and journalists by referencing the man charged in the killing of Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk.
In a video posted by Brandi Kruse, host of the UnDivided podcast, Washington State Senate Majority Leader Jamie Pedersen said he did not “have the scientific expertise” to weigh in when asked to acknowledge biological differences between boys and girls that could affect athletic competition.
After UW researcher called for Tyler Robinson, the alleged shooter of Charlie Kirk, to take out @DeAngelisCorey & @BrandiKruse, @adamguillette said UW had "tremendous violence just as recently as last year & they consistently do very little to actually hold people accountable.” pic.twitter.com/B4vxceOugs
— Ari Hoffman 🎗 (@thehoffather) January 14, 2026
School-choice advocate Corey DeAngelis shared the video, and transgender UW researcher Mara Maughan wrote: “may there be a tyler robinson (sic) for you all,” referencing the alleged assassin of the TPUSA founder. DeAngelis publicized the comment via screenshot after it was deleted.
Mara Maughan, a trans @UW research scientist who studies COVID vaccines, thinks me and @DeAngelisCorey should be assassinated for saying boys and girls aren't the same. This is allowed at UW, because Democrats and the media believe it is OK to threaten conservatives. pic.twitter.com/iTHEXrjgGi
— Brandi Kruse (@BrandiKruse) January 11, 2026
Maughan is listed as a research scientist in the University of Washington’s Fuller Lab. The lab’s public team page describes Maughan as using “she/they” pronouns and working on immunoassays, as well as “SARS-CoV-2 and Influenza in vivo challenge trials,” among other projects.
BREAKING: This person just commented on my post and said "may there be tyler robinsons for you all."
Mara Maughan is a research scientist at the University of Washington and uses "she/they" pronouns.
Is this a threat by your employee, @UW? pic.twitter.com/jxTdXFYGv8
— Corey A. DeAngelis, school choice evangelist (@DeAngelisCorey) January 11, 2026
After the screenshot spread online, Maughan’s social accounts appeared to be deleted, and the Fuller Lab page was shut down.
The @UW employee follows:
• Trans Army
• Green Party
• Green Party of Seattle
• Green Party of Washington
• Seattle Mayor Katie B. Wilson
• Bernie Sanders"The Green Party of Washington is your anti-capitalist political home" pic.twitter.com/EHbPLYfr9x
— Corey A. DeAngelis, school choice evangelist (@DeAngelisCorey) January 11, 2026
In a statement shared with The College Fix, UW spokesperson Victor Balta said the university condemns violence and is reviewing the matter. “UW Medicine denounces violence against all people and takes seriously the concerns reported to us regarding this matter. We are reviewing the specifics of this situation, including a detailed review of the facts, university policy and the law, and will determine next steps.”
Adam Guillette, president of Accuracy in Media, told Ari Hoffman on Talk Radio 570 KVI, “We don’t like violent threats towards anybody… regardless of the political motivation,” he said, adding that when threats target people connected to AIM, “we’re definitely going to deliver accountability.”
Guillette criticized UW’s response as too slow, arguing the university should have “immediately spoken up and said, this is unacceptable,” and said the public should see concrete steps because UW is “a taxpayer-funded institution.” He also alleged the university’s response pattern is to promise “some type of internal investigation” and hope the public “forget about it.”
Guillette also described AIM’s response efforts, including building a site he said enables users to email UW’s trustees.
The flare-up preceded the US Supreme Court hearing arguments on Tuesday, challenging state bans that prohibit boys’ participation in girls’ sports.
