The “Trans Day of Vengeance” protest scheduled for Washington, D.C., for Saturday has been canceled by organizers, who cited a “threat to life and safety.”
Our Rights DC, the co-organizer of the event, issued a Twitter thread announcing the cancellation. The event was to take place at the U.S. Supreme Court.
“This action will not be taking place Saturday due to a credible threat to life and safety,” the organization tweeted. “The safety of our trans community is first priority. This threat is the direct result of the flood of raw hatred directed toward the trans community after the Tennessee shooting.”
1/x: This action will not be taking place Saturday due to a credible threat to life and safety. The safety of our trans community is first priority. This threat is the direct result of the flood of raw hatred directed toward the trans community after the Tennessee shooting.
— Our Rights DC (@OurRightsDC) March 30, 2023
It was not clear if the cancelation extended to loosely affiliated events scheduled to take place around the nation on Friday and Saturday.
The group claimed that after Monday’s attack at The Covenant School in Nashville, in which a woman claiming to be transgender killed three 9-year-old children and three adults, transgender-identifying people faced a threat of “genocide.”
“Individuals who had nothing to with that heinous act have been subjected to highly serious threats and blamed only because of their gender identity. This is one of the steps in genocide, and we will continue our efforts to protect trans lives,” Our Rights DC wrote.
2/x: Individuals who had nothing to with that heinous act have been subjected to highly serious threats and blamed only because of their gender identity. This is one of the steps in genocide, and we will continue our efforts to protect trans lives.
— Our Rights DC (@OurRightsDC) March 30, 2023
“While we wholeheartedly believe in the mission and message we put forth for trans day of vengeance, we must prioritize the safety of our community and the people that make it up,” the group continued. “In an ideal world we would have continued on in defiance of the attempt to silence our right to free expression. However, we lack the resources to ensure the safety of the protest and cannot in good conscience move forward with it.”
4/x: In an ideal world we would have continued on in defiance of the attempt to silence our right to free expression. However, we lack the resources to ensure the safety of the protest and cannot in good conscience move forward with it.
— Our Rights DC (@OurRightsDC) March 30, 2023
Earlier this week, Daily Wire host Michael Knowles was suspended from Twitter after he posted a Bible verse in response to the planned event. Knowles appeared to have been impacted by a widespread Twitter crackdown against conservative accounts criticizing or simply alluding to the Trans Radical Activist Network’s recent call for the “Day of Vengeance.” Knowles and others who posted warnings about the event were allowed back on Twitter if they took down those initial tweets.
Knowles had linked on Twitter to a Daily Wire article about the “Day of Vengeance” and included a reference to Romans 12:19, in which the Apostle Paul exhorts Christians to refrain from taking personal vengeance: “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’”
Twitter’s reprimand against the post, a screenshot of which was shared on Tuesday evening by fellow Daily Wire host Matt Walsh, told Knowles to delete the post and said that the platform does not permit users to “share abusive content, harass someone, or encourage other people to do so.” Knowles was provided with a button through which he could delete the post.
Walsh tagged Elon Musk, the new owner and chief executive of Twitter, and noted that Knowles was “suspended for posting a Bible verse.”
Ben Zeisloft contributed to this article.