Anti-trans activism’s Nazi problem has long bubbled under the surface, despite attempts to paint gender critical anti-trans activism as wholly separate from the queer-bashing street violence of the far right. But this undercurrent of extremist ties became international news this past week when photos and videos of an Australian tour by the anti-trans activist Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull (who posts on Twitter as Kellie-Jay Keen and has also gone by the alias Posie Parker) showed Nazi fans of Keen-Minshull marching in support of her cause in Melbourne on March 18. Keen-Minshull, who once used an image of a barbie doll in a Nazi uniform to represent herself online, has denied having ties to Nazi groups, speculating that the National Socialists giving Nazi salutes at her rally were trans activists in disguise.
The backlash to the anti-trans movement’s extremist ties has promoted defensive responses from many who had previously represented themselves as being on the left, including J. K. Rowling herself. The author took to Twitter to show her wholehearted support for Keen-Minshull, regardless of questions about the activist’s Nazi base of support. All told, the author retweeted Keen-Minshull twice, tweeted her personal support for Keen-Minshull three times, and tweeted or retweeted anti-trans messages a further 9 times in a 24-hour period, including a thread where the author referred to trans women as “trans identified males” and amplified false claims about their propensity to commit crimes. (As of this writing, Rowling has tweeted an even dozen times.)
Rowling herself has consistently held the entire trans rights movement responsible for harsh online criticism she has recieved, maintaining that allowing such behavior among supporters of trans rights represents a threat to freedom of speech.
Let’s break down those tweets:
Rowling commenced her big day of anti-trans tweeting with a double negative and a three-tweet thread, writing “There is zero evidence that trans-identified males don’t retain male patterns of criminality.”
After this, Rowling commenced retweeting expressions of support for Keen-Minshull, starting with the sentiments of an anti-trans activist, Dennis Noel Kavanagh, who believes that the gay rights movement would be better off with the support of people like Keen-Minshull.
Rowling followed up by retweeting an account critical of Australians (or possibly New Zealanders) demonstrating in outrage that Nazis were openly marching on the streets of Melbourne.
The next retweet was in a similar vein, condeming protesters outraged by the Nazi demonstration, who some have claimed threatened the safety of Keen-Minshull.
At this point Rowling retweeted Keen-Minshull herself for the first time. The anti-trans activist known to be supported by Nazis praised, “the bravery of the New Zealand women and men who came to speak the truth.”
Rowling then tweeted her support of Keen-Minshull in her own words, making it clear that she considered Keen-Minshull to be the victim without addressing Keen-Minshull’s support among National Socialists.
Rowling followed this by retweeting Keen-Minshull again, saying she was “so sorry [she] couldn’t do more.” (Presumably she did not mean she wished could have done even more to foment Nazi marches in the streets of foreign capitals.)
The next retweet from Rowling was of a poster who objects to a version of the Pride flag that includes trans colors as well as black and brown stripes, representing a commitment to queer people who have traditionally been marginalized within the LGBTQ+ community itself. The retweet included imagery of the black, brown, and trans colors being erased and the message “Get Your Shit Off Our Flag.”
Rowling then retweeted a thread again echoing the sentiment that gender critical feminists had been the real victim after Australians and New Zealanders rallied in outrage at Nazis having marched in the streets in support of the anti-trans cause.
The 10th tweet in Rowling’s tear expressed her belief that all women who don’t agree with her position on trans rights are traitors who only support trans rights to win male approval.
Rowling’s 11th tweet continued the theme that the real victims are gender critical feminists. It came from a user who had changed their username to “Women’sSafetyIsNotNazism.”
As this post was being prepared, Rowling continued in much the same way, tweeting once and retweeting once again.
Assigned does not plan to continue to update this post if Rowling continues to tweet more in this vein as the day continues, but we will be sure to update this post if Rowling makes any statements condeming Nazism, or otherwise acknowledging or seeks to distance herself from the Australian Nazi supporters of Kellie-Jay Keen Minshull.
Interesting you haven’t screen captured ANY of the tweets the trans rights supporters sent JK Rowling, threatening to kill her or mentioned the police dropping a case against one of these low life people for making a viable attempt in her life, a very biased article.
It can be both. Making attempts on her life are bad…as is her behavior.
Yes but you have to understand that those acts of violence are the acts of individuals and not the trans or queer community as a whole, while trans oppression is performed by the entire community of terfs.
You can’t have it both ways. I agree with much of what Rowling comments on transgender women not being biological women. But I am not anti trans. A person can be what they want to be. But competing in biological women’s professional sport and pretending there is not a massive disadvantage is bizarre.
This sets up a false binary, implying you must either reject trans identities or accept unfair advantages. That’s not true. You can affirm trans people and discuss fairness in sports—with nuance, evidence, and without resorting to exclusion.
This phrase hinges on a simplistic and outdated view of biology. Biological sex isn’t binary—scientific consensus recognizes it as a spectrum (e.g. intersex conditions, hormonal ranges, chromosomal variations).
Trans women often undergo hormone replacement therapy (HRT), which significantly alters muscle mass, bone density, and hemoglobin levels, reducing athletic advantages.
WPATH and IOC guidelines rely on these biological changes to ensure fairness—not just identity.
📌 Being “biologically female” isn’t a fixed, singular thing. It’s a constellation of traits—many of which HRT modifies.
This statement sounds open-minded, but the follow-up contradicts it. Saying someone "can be what they want" but then denying their full participation in society (like sports) undermines that acceptance. It turns into conditional support—only if trans people don’t assert rights that make others uncomfortable.
This is one of the most repeated but misleading claims. Let’s look at evidence:
Trans women on HRT typically lose 30–40% of muscle strength within 12 months. That’s a significant drop.
A 2021 British Journal of Sports Medicine study showed performance advantages shrink dramatically after two years of HRT.
Elite sports bodies (like the IOC, NCAA, and World Athletics) have specific inclusion policies that weigh hormone levels, transition timelines, and fairness.
In practice, there is no surge of trans women dominating women’s sports. In fact, trans athletes remain underrepresented, not overpowered.
📊 If “massive advantage” were true, we’d see domination across events. We don’t.
Saying “I’m not anti-trans, but…” and then denying core aspects of trans inclusion is a textbook example of respectability politics. It masks prejudice in the language of reason, but the outcome is the same: exclusion.
I’m not surprised that someone with millions of followers receives a few death threats from people claiming to be trans
No doubt, in all those millions, there are even one or two actual trans people legitimately making death threats. Statistically, it’s impossible to avoid. And no doubt she receives even more death threats from cis people; she just selectively chooses to showcase the trans people, and we have to rely on her word (which is worth less than nothing).
But God, just imagine if Rowling was trans, how much more rape and death threats she’d get on an hourly basis, especially with THAT size following
This comment doesn’t mention Rowling’s transphobia, a very biased comment.
It’s funny because Rowling is the woman who sells out other women for male approval
Observe how Rowling is:
a) Supporting open racism as well as transphobia (erasing the black and brown colours from the queer community).
b) Reframing fear and hatred of trans people as feminism and trans rights activists/progressives as mens’ rights activists (a reversal of reality).
c) Closes with a retweet which explicitly defends Trump supporters (you know, abortion bans, "grab them by the p*ssy) as less of a threat to women than progressives, and suggests supporting progressivism is "a colossal waste of time". This gives the whole game away- the real goal is to gaslight women and feminists into supporting Trumpian fascism I repeat: JK ROWLING IS HERE OPENLY DEFENDING AND RECRUITING FOR TRUMPISM.
If she was ever anything else, she is now wholly a creature of fascism.
Ugh, also check out Stuart Parker’s form