A 38-year-old mother was arrested in front of her young son and locked up for several hours after calling a trans woman a man during a debate on Twitter.
Kate Scottow was arrested at her apartment by three officers who took her to a police station where she was jailed for seven hours after making comments related to a person’s gender online.
The incident began after Scottow was caught in a heated debate with an activist on Twitter. According to the reports, the mother was verbally harassing transgender woman named Stephanie Hayden who reported her to the authorities.
In the High Court papers, Mrs. Scottow was accused of running a “campaign of targeted harassment” against Hayden whom she called a man.
Additionally, the papers claim the mother-of-two used two accounts to “harass, defame, and publish derogatory and defamatory tweets” about Stephanie Hayden.
Following the accusations, Kate spoke out and denied all allegations related to harassment and defaming. Nevertheless, she confirmed that she has a “genuine and reasonable belief” that people “cannot practically speaking change sex.”
Hertfordshire-based 38-year-old also explained how the police took her fingerprints and DNA and seized her electronic devices. Allegedly, her mobile phone and her laptop haven’t been returned to her for over one month as the investigation is still active.
Speaking of the incident on Mumsnet forum, the mother-of-two wrote:
“I was arrested in my home by three officers, with my autistic ten-year-old daughter and breastfed 20-month-old son present.
“I was then detained for seven hours in a cell with no sanitary products (which I said I needed) before being interviewed then later released under investigation … I was arrested for harassment and malicious communications because I called someone out and misgendered them on Twitter.”
The Hertfordshire Police also spoke out and explained that they “take all reports of malicious communication seriously.”
What are your thoughts on this incident? Let us know in the comments and don’t forget to SHARE this post for more news!