Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling has dared police to arrest her as new hate crime laws come into effect in the U.K.
The 58-year-old, who has regularly voiced her disagreement with the Scottish government’s views on transgender rights, slammed the new rules — which are to be enforced in the country starting Tuesday, April, 2 — in a series of messages posted via X.
In view of her 14 million followers, she wrote: “Freedom of speech and belief are at an end in Scotland if the accurate description of biological sex is deemed criminal.”
She added: “I’m currently out of the country, but if what I’ve written here qualifies as an offense under the terms of the new act, I look forward to being arrested when I return to the birthplace of the Scottish Enlightenment.”
Rowling also argued that the new law could lead to campaigners being wrongfully arrested.
“It is impossible to accurately describe or tackle the reality of violence and sexual violence committed against women and girls, or address the current assault on women’s and girls’ rights, unless we are allowed to call a man a man,” she argued. “The legislation is wide open to abuse by activists who wish to silence those of us speaking out about the dangers of eliminating women’s and girls’ single-sex spaces.”
She ended her post with the hashtags, “#ArrestMe #AprilFools #HateCrimeActScotland.”
Rowling’s comments came after the Scottish parliament warned that Scots “could be investigated” for wrongly labeling someone’s gender online under the new rules of The Hate Crime and Public Order Act. The new measures aim to tackle the harm caused by hatred and prejudice, extending protections from abusive behavior to people on grounds including age, disability, religion, sexual orientation and transgender identity.
Last year, Rowling admitted that she would do prison time for her transgender views. In October 2023, she shared a photo via X which read, “Repeat After Us: Trans Women Are Women,” to which she replied, “No.”
“I’ll happily do two years if the alternative is compelled speech and forced denial of the reality and importance of sex,” she continued. “Bring on the court case, I say. It’ll be more fun than I’ve ever had on a red carpet.”
The author initially sparked backlash back in 2019 when she tweeted her support for a British researcher who lost her job after making transphobic comments online.
“Dress however you please. Call yourself whatever you like. Sleep with any consenting adult who’ll have you. Live your best life in peace and security,” Rowling tweeted at the time. “But force women out of their jobs for stating that sex is real? #IStandWithMaya #ThisIsNotADrill.”
Less than one year later, Rowling posted a series of controversial tweets in June 2020, writing, “‘People who menstruate.’ I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?”
She continued: “If sex isn’t real, the lived reality of women globally is erased. I know and love trans people, but erasing the concept of sex removes the ability of many to meaningfully discuss their lives. It isn’t hate to speak the truth.”
A few days after receiving backlash for her tweets and being labeled a “TERF” (trans-exclusionary radical feminist), Rowling responded in a lengthy essay defending her opinions.
“It isn’t enough for women to be trans allies,” she wrote at the time. “Women must accept and admit that there is no material difference between trans women and themselves. But, as many women have said before me, ‘woman’ is not a costume. … The ‘inclusive’ language that calls female people ‘menstruators’ and ‘people with vulvas’ strikes many women as dehumanizing and demeaning. I understand why trans activists consider this language to be appropriate and kind, but for those of us who’ve had degrading slurs spat at us by violet men, it’s not neutral, it’s hostile and alienating.”
