(HorizonPost.com) – Scottish police said on Tuesday that author J.K. Rowling would not face arrest under the new hate crime law after she challenged it on Monday, Reuters reported.
Rowling, a vocal opponent of the erasure of women by transgender activists, marked April 1, the day Scotland’s new Hate Crime Act took effect, by posting a lengthy thread on X in which she listed 10 transgender women, including a convicted rapist and several high-profile activists.
Rowling then declared April Fools and pointed out that the ten individuals she cited weren’t women but were men. She condemned Scottish lawmakers for passing the Hate Crime Act and said under the law, “freedom of speech and belief are at an end in Scotland.”
Rowling closed her thread by noting that she was “currently out of the country” but looked forward to finding out if what she posted qualified as an offense under the act. If it did, she looked forward “to being arrested when I return to the birthplace of Scottish Enlightenment.”
Under the new Hate Crime Act, “stirring up hatred” based on age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity is a crime.
Police Scotland confirmed that it received multiple complaints against Rowling for her thread on X. However, a spokesperson for the police said Rowling’s comments were not considered criminal and “no further action” would be taken against her.
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak came to Rowling’s defense, saying it should not be a crime to make “common sense” statements about the biological sexes.
The First Minister of Scotland Humza Yousaf defended the Hate Crime Act, saying it would protect people “from a rising tide of hatred.” He argued that the new offenses created under the act only criminalize “threatening or abusive” behavior that is intended to “stir up hatred.”
Opponents of the new hate crime law argue that it would have a chilling effect on free speech and could be used to silence some views, especially from those who support women-only spaces.
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