JK Rowling will not face prosecution under Scotland’s hate crime laws after she was reported for a series of posts on X that called trans women men, Police Scotland have confirmed. The news comes after the country’s national police force logged more than 3,000 complaints in 48 hours since the new legislation was activated.
On Monday the Harry Potter author challenged the force to “arrest her” under Scotland’s new law after making a series of posts on social media calling trans women men.
As reported by the Times, the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act took effect on April Fool’s Day, creating a new offence of stirring up hatred against protected characteristics including age, disability, religion, sexual orientation and transgender identity, but excluding biological sex. It was already an offence to stir up hatred on the basis of race.
SNP government ministers previously said that “misgendering” people would not be a crime under the new legislation. However, on Monday Siobhian Brown, minister for victims and community safety, said people risked being investigated for misgendering someone online under the new law.
Asked whether misgendering someone on the internet was a crime under the new law, Ms Brown told the Today programme on BBC Radio 4: “It would be a police matter for them to assess what happens. It could be reported and it could be investigated — whether or not the police would think it was criminal is up to Police Scotland.”
Following its activation, the law was immediately tested by JK Rowling, who highlighted well-known transgender people in a thread on social media platform X. She included the broadcaster India Willoughby, who reported Rowling to police in England for misgendering her last month, and the activist Munroe Bergdorf, along with convicted sex offenders.
Commenting on the trans people in her thread, Rowling wrote on Monday: “April Fools! Only kidding. Obviously, the people mentioned in the above tweets aren’t women at all, but men, every last one of them.” She finished her social media posts with the hashtag “arrest me”.
Police Scotland said they had received complaints about Rowling’s posts, but no action would be taken.
Reacting to the news, Ms Rowling posted on X: ”I hope every woman in Scotland who wishes to speak up for the reality and importance of biological sex will be reassured by this announcement, and I trust that all women – irrespective of profile or financial means – will be treated equally under the law.”
She also issued a further challenge: “If they go after any woman for simply calling a man a man, I’ll repeat that woman’s words and they can charge us both at once.”
The police decision not to deem Rowling’s comments criminal was welcomed by the gender-critical SNP MP Joanna Cherry KC.
“This is a welcome decision no doubt made at a high level in Police Scotland but people, particularly ordinary, working-class women, can’t be expected to rely on a decision in a single high-profile case to protect their freedom of expression,” she wrote.
Cherry also urged Police Scotland to confirm whether a “non-crime hate incident” had been recorded against Rowling. This is where the comments or action are not deemed to have reached the criminal threshold.
If you’re concerned about the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021, and the number of innocent Scots likely to be get entangled in its net, please do consider donating to our newly established Scottish Fighting Fund. You can do so below.
Any money generated by this fundraiser between now and 31st March 2025 that we don’t spend on Murdo Fraser’s case will be spent on fighting cases related specifically to the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act.
To provide FSU members with as much peace of mind as we can, we have an arrangement in place with a top firm of criminal lawyers in Scotland so we can assign a solicitor to FSU members who are arrested or questioned under caution because they’re suspected of committing a speech-related ‘hate crime’ (as defined in the new law), although whether we help them in this way, and whether we continue to help them after the first police interview, will be discretionary.
Another benefit of joining the FSU is we can help you get NCHIs deleted from your record, as we just did with Conservative MP Rachel Maclean, who had an NCHI recorded against her after tweeting about the Green Party candidate in her constituency, a trans woman (on which more in a moment).
We will also be publishing an FAQs on what to do if you are contacted by Police Scotland, having been reported for a ‘hate crime’, shortly.
Any money left over in the fundraiser after 12 months will be transferred to our general funds.
In light of this new threat to free speech, we hope FSU supporters will consider becoming members by clicking the button below, particularly if they’re resident in Scotland.
