A transgender activist who urged a crowd to 'punch a terf' has been cleared of intentionally encouraging an offence. Sarah Jane Baker made the comment at a Trans+Pride rally in London on 8 July, City of London Magistrates' Court heard.
The 54-year-old's remarks were captured on video during the march from Trafalgar Square to Wellington Arch. Prosecuting, Kabir Sondhi told the court that 'terf'—an acronym for 'trans-exclusionary radical feminist'—is considered a slur. In the recording, Baker said: 'I was gonna come here and be really fluffy and be really nice and say be really lovely and queer and gay - nah, if you see a terf, punch them in the [expletive] face.'
Baker was arrested on 12 July and charged with intentionally encouraging assault by beating. During her arrest, which she live-streamed, she said: 'Don't punch terfs, I'm really sorry I said that.' She accepted she had said the words but denied any intent to incite violence. Giving evidence, Baker said she wished she could take the words back and that she had friends who were trans-exclusionary radical feminists.
Baker added: 'I've never in my life used any physical violence against trans-exclusionary radical feminists. It wasn't my finest hour; I am quite annoying but I don't want people to be hurt because of something that I said.' She told the court: 'The only people suffering more than us is migrants - thank God I'm not a transgender migrant.' She also said: 'We're living in dark times and this anti-trans rhetoric is being actively encouraged by our government.'
Baker, from Richmond, south-west London, is serving a life sentence for the attempted murder of a fellow inmate, having previously been jailed for kidnapping and torturing her stepmother's 19-year-old brother. She was recalled to prison after the rally. Deputy Chief Magistrate Tan Ikram found her not guilty, saying he was not sure she intended her words to be acted on and that it was possible she said them for publicity.
