Group behind 'Trans Day of Vengeance' raised money for gun training

Despite three nine-year-olds being gunned down by a transgender shooter at a private Christian school in Nashville, activists are still rallying the troops to protest for a 'Trans Day of Vengeance' - months after raising money for firearms training.

Transgender shooter Audrey Hale opened fire on the Covenant School in Nashville at 10.30am on Monday, killing Hallie Scruggs, William Kinney and Evelyn Dieckhaus during her rampage at the school.

But despite rising political tensions across the country, which saw a press secretary for Arizona Democrat Governor post a Tweet about shooting transphobes, the Trans Radical Activist Network (TRAN) is pushing forward with their protest in DC.

The Virginia chapter of the group held a 'dance party fundraiser' in Richmond 'benefiting firearm/self-defense training for trans-Virginians' on March 7, before the mass shooting had taken place.

In statements the group has taken pains to distance themselves from Hale, and her actions, and changed the name of the protest before the brutal slayings.

The protest on Saturday was initially meant to be called a 'day of visibility' but rebranded before the shooting to vengeance because it means 'fighting back with vehemence' – though the group was quick to say they do not 'encourage or promote violence' when contacted by DailyMail.com.

But one activist appears to have taken the movement to the next level, posting a picture of a heavily armed person with an assault rifle and threatening to 'kill christcucks' - as Twitter removed thousands of posts with flyers for the event.

Twitter has been removing the posts that could be deemed threatening or involve guns associated with the 'TransDayofVengeance' hashtag - but it is unclear exactly how many were others posing with weapons as they have since been deleted.

Ella Irwin, Twitter's head of trust and safety, wrote that the company removed more than 5,000 tweets that included a poster for the event.

She said: '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.'

Two other trans activists have since posted footage and photos of themselves with rifles, which appear to be in direct response to the Nashville shooting.

One says that she will use the weapon for 'protection' against 'transphobes' who  target them.

Kayla Denker, who describes themselves as a ‘communist, archaeologist and writer, posted the video of herself with her gun after the incident in Nashville – despite saying ‘advocating for trans people to arm ourselves is not any kind of a solution to the genocide we are facing’.

She is also appealing for help with the medical bills for her transition on her social media, which has now been locked down.

Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Green also saw her account removed after she launched several anti-trans attacks on Twitter.

Greene claimed that 'Antifa' was organizing the alleged event, and reposted a poster for the protest while complaining Twitter kept removing her posts before she was ultimately suspended.

Activists are being encouraged to 'bring a buddy' and wear a mask at the event outside of the Supreme Court in DC on April 1, and is billed as avenging a 'trans genocide.'

Organizers did not respond when asked questions about the safety of protests amid the increasing pressure between the two sides of the political spectrum.

Websites such as Etsy are still being used to sell pro-gun and trans merchandise, with stickers that say 'defend equality' with assault rifles on as well as t-shirts and other items emblazoned with 'Trans rights… or else' which also have the high-powered guns in pink, white and blue – the Trans colors – on them.

TRAN is run by three co-founders, one of whom is a former staffer for the Virginia Democrats and stepped down to work with the group.

Bo Belotti, the national recruitment director, is a 'trans masculine non-binary person' and helped the Virginia chapter of the group to raise money to go on guns and self-defence.

On March 7, the Virginia chapter held a 'dance party fundraiser' in Richmond 'benefiting firearm/self-defense training for trans-Virginians. Come boogie with us and defend trans life!'... (Read more)

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