‘Trans day of vengeance’ protest to hit Washington in wake of Nashville shooting

Twitter is banning images of a poster for a “Trans Day of Vengeance” rally amid fears it is inciting “violence” in the wake of a mass shooting in Nashville.

The Trans Radical Activist Network (TRAN) plans to demonstrate outside the US Supreme Court in Washington on Saturday in response to “astronomical amounts of hate” directed at the trans community.

The group said it was protesting against a wave of proposed legislation seeking to ban gender affirming care across the US.

Twitter said it had removed more than 5,000 tweets sharing a poster about the rally for violating its policies.

The decision to go ahead with the rally has been criticised by some in the wake of a shooting at a private Christian primary school in Nashville on Monday, when a transgender ex-student gunned down six staff and students.

Shooter Audrey Hale, 28, was said to harbour “resentment” towards The Covenant School.

Nashville’s police chief has said his officers are investigating if gender was a motive for the shooting.

In 2020, the Presbyterian Church in America, which the school is a part of, spoke of the “sinfulness” of transgender and homosexual desire and conduct.

'Vengeance does not imply peace'

Ella Irwin, Twitter’s head of trust and safety, said the platform was automatically sweeping to remove images of the poster.

“We do not support tweets that incite violence irrespective of who posts them. ‘Vengeance’ does not imply peaceful protest,” she said.

Ultra-Right-wing congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene’s account was suspended for seven days after she repeatedly posted the rally poster.

In a post from her personal account, Ms Greene said: “My Congressional account was suspended for seven days for exposing Antifa, who are organising a call for violence called ‘Trans Day of Vengeance’.

“The day after the mass murder of children by a trans shooter. Restore my account immediately.”

Hale, who was born female but identified as male, was “under a doctor’s care for an emotional disorder” but was able to legally purchase seven firearms, according to police.

Hale was shot dead by police minutes after entering the small, fee-paying Presbyterian school for children aged four to 12.

Headteacher Katherine Koonce, 60, Cynthia Peak, 61, a substitute teacher, and Mike Hill, 61, a custodian, and nine-year-olds Evelyn Dieckhaus, William Kinney, and Hallie Scruggs were all killed in the attack.

'Our community is frightened'

The “Trans Day of Vengeance” event is being organised by Our Rights DC. “We need more visibility,” its poster states, calling on people to gather at the Supreme Court to “stop trans genocide”.

In response to the backlash, the group said it was “horrified at the acts of violence committed at the Covenant school”.

“We also reject any connection between that horrific event and ours.”

TRAN added the protest was “about unity, not inciting violence”.

“Our community is frightened. Some have been experiencing mental health crises due to the political climate in our country,” the group said.

Meanwhile, the press secretary for Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs resigned on Wednesday after facing criticism for posting a meme suggesting violent measures against transphobes in the wake of the shooting.

On Monday night, Ms Hobbs spokesperson Josselyn Berry posted an image from the 1980 film Gloria of a woman holding a gun in each of her hands with the caption "Us when we see transphobes".

The Office of Ms Hobbs released a statement saying the governor does not condone violence in any form.