Daniel Benz, now known as Danielle Marie Whitebird, is listed in Minnesota Department of Corrections records under the alias Daniel Patrick Benz.
- Birth/legal name (original): Daniel Patrick Benz (born November 19, 1986).
- Current legal name: Danielle Marie Whitebird (changed in June 2023).
- MnDOC listing: The official offender profile lists the primary DOC name as “Danielle Marie Whitebird” but explicitly notes “Also Known As Name: BENZ, DANIEL PATRICK” as the alias.
Reduxx, a women’s-rights-focused outlet that covers gender-identity-related cases, reported that Benz was convicted in 2007 of criminal sexual misconduct involving a 6-year-old girl.
Whitebird was arrested in Minnesota on June 1, 2026 on charges of illegal firearms possession and threatening to kill police officers.
While in the back of a squad car, Whitebird slipped out of handcuffs and made additional death threats.
Coverage of the arrest has been limited to local and regional television stations, including Valley News Live and a network of WKRC-affiliated outlets.
These reports describe Whitebird as a “woman” in headlines and use female pronouns throughout, while omitting the suspect’s biological sex.
This failure to disclose the suspect’s biological sex and relevant criminal history raises serious questions about journalistic standards and public safety.
By presenting the story in this manner, the outlets leave readers with an incomplete picture and make it harder for the public to understand the full concerns raised by this case — particularly those involving women’s facilities and protected spaces.
As of this writing, the story appears to have received no national mainstream media attention from outlets such as CNN, The New York Times, MS NOW, The Washington Post, NBC News, ABC News national, CBS News, NPR, PBS, Reuters, AP, Fox News, and others.
Libs of TikTok posted this story — or, more accurately, this non-story — on X, pointing out that the local news outlets reporting it referred to him as a woman.
But biological sex matters because Benz is a biological male, a convicted child sex offender who exposed himself to women while being held in a women’s prison. So when local outlets describe Benz only as a “woman,” readers do not get the full context needed to understand why this case raises public-safety and women/girls’ public facility concerns.
In 2007, Benz was convicted of criminal sexual misconduct with a victim under the age of 13. According to court records obtained by Reduxx, St. Louis county police officers responded to a tip from the Eveleth Police Department in July regarding the sexual abuse of a minor.
Eveleth police had received a text message informing law enforcement that Benz had “played a game of touch the peanuts” with a 6 year-old girl. The informant, whose name has been redacted, said the girl had been acting oddly for two weeks. The child divulged to the individual that “Dan” had sexually molested her on multiple occasions. READ MORE
Deputies searched the pickup truck and reportedly found the following items inside:
- A loaded .25-caliber handgun under the center console
- A modified 12-gauge shotgun under the rear seat
- 20 rounds of ammunition
- Wire cutters
- Bolt cutters
- Binoculars
Per the report, Whitebird is prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition due to four prior violent felony convictions, which reportedly include burglary with a dangerous weapon and criminal sexual conduct.
After being taken into custody, Whitebird reportedly got out of her handcuffs while in the back of a patrol cruiser and threatened to kill a deputy, allegedly shouting, “One of us is not coming out of this alive.”
Whitebird then allegedly stood on the backseat, kicked the driver and banged her head against the cruiser, with deputies responding by using a stun gun to subdue her.
According to the outlet, Whitebird later threatened to kill the families of the officers after she was released.
A 39-year-old woman was arrested June 1 by the Clay County Sheriff’s Office and the Minnesota Department of Corrections, according to jail records. READ MORE
After her arrest, Whitebird slipped out of her handcuffs in the back of a squad car and threatened to kill a deputy, saying, “One of us is not coming out of this alive.” She stood on the backseat, kicked at the divider, and banged her head against the vehicle. Deputies deployed a Taser to subdue her. She later threatened to kill officers’ families upon her release.
Whitebird faces the following charges in Clay County District Court:
- Three counts of possession of a firearm/ammunition by an ineligible person (felony, up to 15 years and/or $30,000 each)
- Threats of violence — reckless disregard of risk (felony, up to 5 years and/or $10,000)
- Possession of a short-barreled shotgun (felony, up to 5 years and/or $10,000)
- Possession of burglary or theft tools (felony, up to 3 years and/or $5,000)
- Obstruction of legal process creating risk of death or substantial bodily harm (felony, up to 5 years and/or $10,000)
- Carrying a pistol without a permit (gross misdemeanor)
Whitebird was booked into the Clay County Jail; she made her first appearance in court on June 2. READ MORE
Before I found the Reduxx article, I tried to learn what his sexual crime was so I asked ChatGPT. I had read it was 4th degree.
ChatGPT showed me this below. Once again, not being able to deal with reality.
Then I asked Grok.
Yet Grok is telling me to upgrade my subscription, even though I already pay for it.
