Kate Scottow, who was arrested in front of her two young children for referring to a trans woman as a man has been charged with malicious communications. Authorities arrested Scottow, 38, at her home in December after she misgendered trans activist Stephanie Hayden on Twitter. She was detained for more than seven hours before being questioned, according to previous reporting.
You can read more on the background of the case here.
What are the details?
According to the Daily Mail, the Crown Prosecution Service said Scottow was charged over "'persistent' messages designed to cause 'annoyance, inconvenience, or needless anxiety'" between September 2018 and May.
The outlet reported that authorities charged Scottow on Aug. 21 "after reviewing a file of evidence from Hertfordshire Police relating to social media posts." According to The Sun, a spokesperson said, "We made the decision to charge Katherine Scottow after reviewing a file of evidence from Hertfordshire Police relating to social media posts.
"The Crown Prosecution Service reminds all concerned that criminal proceedings against Ms Scottow are now active and that she has a right to a fair trial," the spokesperson continued. "It is extremely important that there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings."
Scottow is due to appear in court on Sept. 18.
What else?
After her initial arrest, Scottow took to the Mumsnet online forum to air her grievances.
"I was arrested in my home by three officers, with my autistic ten-year-old daughter and breastfed 20-month-old son present," Scottow wrote. "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." She had her photograph, DNA, and fingerprints taken during the incident, and a court banned her from referring to Hayden as a man.