An accountant working for a gender-critical feminist group in Scotland has been charged in relation to allegedly homophobic and transphobic tweets in a case that has been seized on as an exemplar of the apparent clash between free speech and transgender rights. Marion Millar, from Airdrie, was bailed to appear at Glasgow sheriff court next month. Millar works at For Women Scotland, a group that brought a legal challenge against the Scottish government in January over its definition of “woman” in an act to improve gender representation on public boards. The case has already gained wide attention among those who believe women’s rights and free speech are under attack from people who want to privilege transgender rights. Supporters waited outside the police station in Coatbridge on Thursday carrying placards with the hashtag “women won’t wheesht [be quiet]”, popularised by Millar and other activists online, tying ribbons in suffragette colours to nearby posts and some wearing fake moustaches. Gender-critical feminists disagree with the view of some LGBT activists that gender identity should be prioritised over biological sex in terms of law-making and policy. They fear sex is being argued into non-existence and that this will erode rights hard-won by women in the face of historical biological discrimination. Some LGBT activists regard the focus on biological sex as transphobic. They argue that while they do not deny the reality of biological sex there must be a recognition of complexities beyond binary definition, and that people should have the right to privacy around their sex characteristics at birth (as was agreed in the European convention on human rights in 2002, which led to the current Gender Recognition Act). Millar confirmed on Twitter that the charges relate to two separate complaints. The Guardian understands Millar was interviewed under the Communications Act 2003, and that the posts were reported because they were considered threatening. Her Twitter account, which she said she locked on Thursday because of abuse, includes robust defences of gender-critical positions and calling for certain LGBTI activists to be kept away from schools and children. A spokesperson for For Women Scotland said: “Marion is naturally upset that the police have decided to press ahead with charges. The past few weeks have been a nightmare for Marion and her family and it seems there is no end in sight. Sadly, in Scotland, it seems both free speech and women’s rights are under attack. “Too many people mistake credible, open threats of violence (to which women are well used) with hurt feelings. As Salman Rushdie said: ‘Nobody has the right to not be offended. That right doesn’t exist in any declaration I have ever read.’ Police and politicians seem to have lost sight of this.” A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “A 50-year-old woman was arrested and charged in connection with online communications offences. She has been released on an undertaking to appear at court at a later date. A report will be sent to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.” Since news of the case became public, there has been some confusion over whether the police were investigating Millar under Scotland’s controversial new hate crime legislation, which was passed in April and which some women have argued could be used to prevent them advancing their gender-critical positions. The relevant provisions of the Hate Crime Act 2021 are not yet in force.