A Tucson man, Michael Pengchung Lee, has been sentenced after threatening to shoot traditional students “Chads and Stacies,” at the University of Arizona.
The 27-year-old Pengchung Lee, who is described as an “incel,” was sentenced to 16 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release after pleading guilty guilty to Interstate Threats for transmitting threats through interstate communications to commit a mass shooting at the University of Arizona.
The conditions of supervised release include substance abuse testing, a mental health assessment, location monitoring, and a no-contact provision that precludes defendant from being on the University of Arizona campus.
According to a study conducted by researchers at the University of Texas:
The study results partially confirmed and partially disconfirmed the typical media representation of incels. As a group, they are not unusually right-wing. Compared to non-incels, however, they are lonelier, less likely to have social support, more likely to be suffering from anxiety and depression, less likely to be employed or in school, more likely to ruminate on past experiences of victimization, and more likely to be living with their parents. Findings include:
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38.85% of the incel participants were right-leaning, 44.70% were left-leaning, and 17.47% were centrist.
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A smaller proportion than would be expected by chance identified as white (63.58%), with 36.42% identifying as BIPOC.
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17% of incels in the study were not in school, working, or in training, compared to only 9% of non-incels.
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36% of incels had a high school level education or lower, compared to 20% of non-incels.
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50% of incels reported living with their parents or a caregiver, compared to 27% of non-incels.
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75% of incels in the study were clinically diagnosable with severe or moderate depression, and 45% with severe anxiety.
The Department of Justice complaint previously filed in the case against Pengchung Lee alleged that on October 22, 2023, he transmitted threats to commit a mass shooting at the university in a group chat on Snapchat. Lee is not a student at the university but expressed a desire to get revenge on “all the chads and stacies!!” “Chads” and “stacies” are commonly used terms by self-described involuntary celibates (incels). Lee made further reference to incel ideology and finished the conversation by stating “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 admitted to sending multiple Snapchat messages on October 22, 2023, to a group chat threatening to commit a mass shooting at the University of Arizona. Lee further admitted that those messages referenced incel ideology, language, and motivations, including referring to a well-known, self-identified incel and mass shooter. Lee also admitted to threatening to commit a mass shooting at the university in at least two other Snapchat conversations, citing the same incel ideology and motivations.
