Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshell, a mother of four in the U.K. who campaigns against “gender identity” ideology, said she was threatened with arrest and banned from leaving the country after sending several tweets that she was later questioned by police for, it was recently reported.
Keen-Minshull was reported to U.K authorities by Susie Green, the CEO the transgender group Mermaids, because of posts Keen-Minshull made on social media. Keen-Minshull says her free speech is under attack.
Keen-Minshull’s questioning was the result of eight tweets she posted online, one where she called transgendered individuals who have had their genitals removed “castrated.” She also accused the Mermaids group of “preying” on gay teenagers and of “mass child abuse.”
Police in West Yorkshire initially did not follow through with Green’s request to look into Keen-Minshull’s social media activity. After working with Green’s Mermaids organization in January, they ultimately questioned Keen-Minshull as a precaution.
A U.K. crowdfunded page outlines Keen-Minshull’s ordeal: “I spent 40 minutes being interviewed under caution for eight tweets spanning 10 months. Susie Green of Mermaids reported me to the police… They are not malicious, they were not false, the purpose is to inform and to challenge the current pro-trans ideological climate.”
“This fight is not whether you agree with my views on transgender issues as much it is that you agree that I have a right to air my views, a right to voice an opinion, a right to free speech,” she wrote.
Green’s Mermaids group responded and said: “[Green] has been the target of a campaign of ongoing persistent harassment causing alarm and distress. We support free speech, but this is not it.”
Mermaids is a group where young people who “feel at odds with their birth gender” can go to for support, according to their website. They also support the parents of transgender youths.
The organization has seen its fair share of controversy.
Green as CEO took her son to Thailand at the age of 16 for gender reassignment surgery in order to circumvent U.K. laws that state such a surgery cannot be performed until the age of 18.
Mermaids also advertises same-day hormone treatments for children – a treatment banned by the U.K.’s National Heath Service.
More recently, the group advocated for criminal charges for a teacher after she “misgendered” a child in her classroom.
Keen-Minshull has stated hat she will continue to fight for her right to free speech and insists that Green and her Mermaids group have no right to attempt to criminalize her words or actions.
“I haven’t hurt anyone or abused anyone. I am a woman with an opinion. We all have the capacity to be offended and offensive. We have to decide whether we want to criminalise this offense,” she said.
