Peyton Rose Monteux
Peyton Rose/Benny Monteux, a male who identifies as a trans woman, was charged with an offence under the Communications Act in March 2019.
Monteux, 27, is alleged to have urged people to “throat punch” members of For Women Scotland, an organisation working to protect and strengthen women’s and children’s rights. An archived copy of a tweet, posted on 15 March 2019 by a since deleted account in the name of Peyton Rose is available here. Above an image of a leaflet distributed by For Women Scotland it reads “If you catch one of these assholes in the act, please undo their work or throat-punch them.”
A spokeswoman for Police Scotland said: “Police in Edinburgh have charged a 27-year-old woman in connection with a communications offence following a threat being made on social media, which was reported to police on Tuesday March 19. A report will be submitted to the Procurator Fiscal.”
Monteux, a singer-songwriter who performs under the stage name Peyton Rose, was due to headline a Trans Pride Scotland event for Trans Day of Visibility, but resigned due to the controversy.
Trans Pride Scotland, issued a statement referencing their safe space policy, but then went on to downplay Monteux’s alleged threat of violence as self defence. A trans-identified male claimed responsibility for the statement on Twitter and appeared to sneer at women slurred as ‘terfs’ for having the temerity to be concerned for their safety – particularly after past documented violence by male trans activists against women – see Tara Wolf who was convicted of assaulting a 60 year old feminist in 2018.
In response to women’s groups rightly pointing out that the Trans Pride Scotland statement appeared to be an attempt to “blame us, and others campaigning for women’s legal rights, for the violent threat made by Peyton Rose against us”, Trans Pride Scotland issued a further statement on 22 March insisting the organisation “does not believe in trivialising violence”.
Peyton Rose Monteux posted an apology on 23 March 2019 but was then photographed in June 2019 demonstrating outside an Edinburgh meeting
to discuss women’s rights that was attended by the women Monteux threatened, and after which another male trans activist demonstrator, Joe Brennan, attempted to assault Julie Bindel, the feminist writer. Monteux was holding a banner for Sisters Uncut, the organisation that supported Tara Wolf, the trans activist convicted of assaulting a 60 year old feminist Maria MacLachlan at a meeting discussing women’s rights in London in 2018.
Photo credit: The Times
Media reports
Dundee Evening Telegraph https://www.eveningtelegraph.co.uk/fp/dundee-trans-pride-headliner-dropped-after-alleged-threat-to-throat-punch-womens-group/ archive
Dundee Courier https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/news/local/dundee/853561/headliner-pulls-out-of-trans-pride-dundee-after-calling-for-feminist-group-to-be-throat-punched/ archive archive
The Times https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/transgender-singer-cancels-gigs-after-calling-for-feminists-to-be-punched-mrgdxp2p0 archive