The "Trans Day of Vengeance," an activist demonstration in support of the transgender community, will proceed as planned amid widespread backlash after a mass school shooting in Nashville, Tennessee, left three children and three adults dead.
The shooter, who is also dead, was identified by investigators as Audrey Hale, 28, a biological woman who identified as a transgender man. Hale's identity became a target for conservative lawmakers and commentators who began blaming transgender people and hormone therapy for the tragedy, while President Joe Biden, Democratic leaders, and community members have focused on assault weapons and gun violence.
NASHVILLE SHOOTING: THREE CHILDREN, THREE ADULTS KILLED IN SHOOTING AT CHRISTIAN COVENANT SCHOOL
The Trans Radical Activist Network announced it would push forward with the demonstrations, which are set to take place in Washington, D.C., from Friday to Sunday. The organization's website cites healthcare restrictions for minors or outright bans on some procedures being considered or passed in several states, as well as violent rhetoric toward the transgender community from former President Donald Trump and other right-wing lawmakers.
"This protest is about unity, not inciting violence," the organization said. "TRAN does not encourage violence and it is not welcome at this event."
Several conservative politicians, such as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), tweeted statements against transgender people in the wake of the shooting. In Greene's case, Twitter decided to limit some of her account features for her tweets that violated Twitter's rules about inciting violence.
"My Congressional account was suspended for 7 days for exposing Antifa, who are organizing a call for violence called 'Trans Day of Vengeance,'" Greene said on Twitter. There is currently no evidence to support that TRAN is related to antifa.
"The day after the mass murder of children by a trans shooter. Restore my account immediately," Greene said.
Ella Irwin, Twitter's Trust and Safety lead, tweeted that the social media website "had to automatically sweep our platform and remove >5000 tweets/retweets" of the poster relating to the "Trans Day of Vengeance" demonstration.
"We do not support tweets that incite violence irrespective of who posts them. 'Vengeance' does not imply peaceful protest. Organizing or support for peaceful protests is ok," Irwin said.
The demonstrations will begin on Friday, four days after Hale opened fire at the Covenant School in Nashville, killing Evelyn Dieckhaus, William Kinney, and Hallie Scruggs (all 9 years old), as well as Cynthia Peak, 61, Mike Hill, 61, and Katherine Koonce, 60.
Koonce was the head of Covenant School since July 2016 and served in the community for over a decade. Hill was a custodian, and Peak was a substitute teacher. Hale did not go to the school to target specific people, police said.
Metropolitan Nashville Police Chief John Drake said Hale had a handgun and two assault-style rifles. Officers Rex Engelbert and Michael Collazo engaged and shot Hale.
Drake confirmed that Hale was receiving treatment from a doctor for an "emotional disorder" and that Hale's parents were unaware of the seven firearms that Hale had purchased legally, adding that the parents only knew of one weapon, which they thought Hale had sold.
Hale had written a manifesto and had detailed maps and drawings of the Covenant School. Drake said the manifesto mentioned several other locations and how Hale would potentially enter and begin the assaults.
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TRAN released a statement on its website ahead of the protests that condemned the tragedy at Covenant School.
"We Tsukuru [co-founder], Our Rights DC, and TRAN are horrified at the acts of violence committed at the Covenant school on March 27, 2023. We grieve for Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs, William Kinney, Cynthia Peak, Katherine Koonce, and Mike Hill, and with their loved ones," the organization wrote. "We also reject any connection between that horrific event and ours. Vengeance means fighting back with vehemence. We are fighting against false narratives, criminalization, and eradication of our existence."