Crown Office discontinue case against Scottish gender critical woman over allegedly abusive social media posts

Crown Office lawyers have all but dropped a case against a gender critical woman who was accused of abusive behaviour over social media posts.

Marion Millar was originally accused of having directed threatening or abusive behaviour at three people, including a police officer, via social media between October last year and June, contrary to Section 38(1) of the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010.

This complaint was aggravated by prejudice relating to sexual orientation and transgender identity.

Women protesting the case of Marion Millar

The incidents were alleged to have taken place between October 2020 and June this year in Glasgow and in Rutherglen.

Crown Office officials confirmed it had discontinued all proceedings against Ms Millar ahead of a planned hearing on Monday, pending a review with the alleged victims.

The prosecution could go ahead, but the move means it is now less likely.

Ms Millar backs gender critical feminism, often labelled by opponents as “trans-exclusionary radical feminism (Terf), which believes in sex-based rights for women and opposes self-identification for transgender individuals.

Joanna Cherry, who led Ms Millar’s legal team, said on Twitter that she was “obviously delighted” after she had been preparing to challenge the prosecution on human rights grounds.

In a statement, Ms Millar’s lawyer, David McKie of Levy and McRae, said: “My client is very pleased to have received confirmation that the case against her had been discontinued by the Crown.

"She had intended to defend the charge against her vigorously had it proceeded to trial and this decision brings a very stressful period to an end.

"In her view, it is the right decision for a whole number of reasons, not least of which is the cost to the public purse.”

The statement went on to thank Ms Millar’s legal team and for those who donated to her crowdfunder.

A spokesperson for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service said: “Those directly involved have been informed of an update in this case and there is a right to call for a review of this.

“Until any review has been completed, the question of whether or not there will be a prosecution remains open.

“The Crown reserves the right to proceed and will not comment further.”

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