U.S. Magistrate Barbara Holmes last week granted pretrial release to Penelope Convertino, the 22-year-old accused of threatening to kill U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), who, a source familiar with the Convertino family told The Tennessee Star, was born as a biological male and now identifies as a transgender woman.
The source additionally confirmed to The Star that Patricia “Pixie” Convertino, a remedial math teacher at Smyrna Middle School, is the mother of Penelope Convertino.
A Facebook account appearing to belong to Patricia Convertino includes a photo of the mother posing next to an individual who appears to be Penelope Convertino, taken at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, which was uploaded in March.
While the social media post did not name the individual posing next to Patricia Convertino, it appears to be the same individual who opened an account on the professional networking website, LinkedIn, using the name Michael Convertino.
The LinkedIn account appears to have last been updated in 2022, when Michael Convertino claimed to be a substitute teacher for Rutherford County Schools, the district where Patricia Convertino works. Tennessee does not require substitute teachers to obtain a teacher’s license or a bachelor’s degree.
Rutherford County Schools Chief Communications Officer James Evans told The Star that the third party vendor who manages substitute teachers for the district has no record for Michael Convertino, but that its records do show Penelope Convertino worked as a substitute teacher for five days in 2022.
The LinkedIn account notably features an audio file that instructs users how to pronounce the name Michael Convertino. LinkedIn audio pronunciations are user generated, indicating that the account owner likely recorded the pronunciation on a smartphone, revealing a person with a voice resembling that of a juvenile male, or female.
Neither Patricia Convertino nor the federal public defender appointed to represent Penelope Convertino replied to press inquiries from The Star, which sought to confirm Penelope Convertino previously used the name Michael, and that he was determined to be a biological male at birth, prior to publication.
Holmes, the federal magistrate who ordered Penelope Convertino released on Friday, is notably the same magistrate who ordered the pretrial release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the alleged human smuggler who the Trump administration wants deported to Uganda.
The magistrate is not the only overlap between the case against Penelope Convertino and immigration cases.
Mary-Kathryn Harcombe, the public defender assigned to the case, is considered an “immigration specialist” in Nashville’s public defender office, and “writes and presents frequently about the interaction between criminal and immigration law in Davidson County and Tennessee,” according to the Tennessee Bar Association.
Harcombe also previously served as the Legal Director of the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC), the Nashville nonprofit who recently sued to obtain records related to the May operation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which saw nearly 200 illegal immigrants arrested.
Blackburn acknowledged the death threat prosecutors attributed to Penelope Convertino for the first time on Monday, when the senator said the arrest would not stall her work for Tennesseans.
“My focus remains on serving the people of Tennessee, and I will not be intimidated or deterred by those who seek to silence me,” said Blackburn.
Blackburn announced her candidacy to become Tennessee’s next governor last month.
The crowdfunding website GoFundMe told The Star on Monday that it would seek additional information from the organizer of a fundraiser seeking money to pay for Penelope Convertino’s bail and legal expenses. The fundraiser was still active at press time.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Penelope Convertino” by Pixie Convertino.
Editor’s note: This report was updated to include comments from Rutherford County Schools.
I’m sure this judge would promptly release non-leftists who threatened Demonrat officeholders. Right.
I’m guessing there is no father involved
The depravity of the left knows no bounds.
A contemptible bleeding-heart magistrate judge releases a criminal illegal alien and a sick tranny from custody. Thanks for nothing Your dis-Honor.
Mental illness needs to be stomped out. Start with locking the dangerous ones up. Trump has the right idea of reopening necessary facilities.