Michael Pengchung Lee, a 27-year-old from Tucson, was sentenced to prison for sending threats to carry out a mass shooting at the University of Arizona. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office District of Arizona, Lee was handed a 16-month term followed by three years of supervised release, which includes mental health assessment, substance abuse testing, and restrictions preventing him from entering the University of Arizona campus.
The complaint stated that on October 22, 202 in a Snapchat group chat, Lee expressed his intent to get revenge on "all the chads and stacies!!" using terms frequently associated with incel, or involuntary celibate, communities. The young man's ominous pronouncement was capped with a final resolve, “im gonna do it guys, my mind is made up and there’s nothing u can do or say to stop me.”
On April 10, 2024, Lee pleaded guilty to Interstate Threats, admitting that he sent several messages via Snapchat communicating his threats. Not only did these messages explicitly refer to controversial incel ideology, but they also mentioned a notorious incel mass shooter, drawing a direct line between his planned actions and those driven by a toxic strand of misdirected retaliation and frustration.
The collaborative efforts of the FBI and the University of Arizona Police, as part of the FBI's Southern Arizona Violent Crime and Gang Task Force, were instrumental in the investigation leading to Lee's sentencing. Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Rossi, who is based in Tucson, represented the prosecution in a case that has drawn attention to the ongoing issue of internet-fueled hatred, underlining the threats posed by individuals endorsing incel beliefs.
