James Billingham

James Billingham (and here, and here), also known as @oolon, also known as Kilgore Sprout, @TheOnlySprout and doubtless as many other socks is harassing Marion Millar, of whom I’ve written before. Again.

Buffalo Billingham

This is at least his second attempt to take down Marion’s crowdfunding page. His previous attempt was partially successful; Marion took down the page herself because in the confusion he helped sow, she believed that a percentage of the donations were going to a charity she felt her donors would not support. The page is now back up (donate if you can) and hopefully safe from interference.

Billingham is trying to interfere nevertheless, as reported here. He’s urging people to mob the companies providing the various payment services and bombard them with misinformation to scare them into withdrawing those accounts.

This is anti-justice and it’s anti-democratic. Everyone is innocent until proven guilty and deserves the right to make the best case for their defence that they can. Nobody should interfere with that right.

Billingham is free to deplore those of us who have donated to Marion’s legal case, but he mustn’t be allowed to take away the basic services she’s using to manage those donations. If the tables were turned, I’d sincerely hope that Billingham had the means to raise money to defend himself, although I’d be disgusted at anyone who dontated.

I don’t want to waste many more words on Billingham, but be aware that he is a man without a sense of shame. There are no lengths he won’t go to or depths to which he won’t plunge to achieve what would seem to us like negligible gains. He lies like he excretes, and with much the same effect. This is all classic predatory behaviour.

If you’re disgusted by his actions too, you can report him to Twitter for targeted harassment here, using the tweets posted on Graham’s substack or many, many others in Billingham’s Twitter account. Be wary of confronting him about his behaviour, though; he’ll use any tactic to hurt you if you piss him off. His only purpose is to bully, and to bully women in particular.

This is the first time I’ve called for anyone to be suspended from Twitter. Hopefully, it’s the last. I don’t actually want Billingham removed from Twitter forever, I think that’s a cruel fate which goes against all my principles and instincts.

But I think this behaviour has to be stopped. Report him if you like, and don’t forget to donate to Marion’s defence fund if you can.

Marion has been doxxed, threatened, stalked and harassed. She has been frightened for herself, for her livelihood and for her children. This is all just sport for people like Billingham. Help put a stop to it, please.

Leave Marion Millar alone

I can’t say too much about this case because it is ongoing and I don’t wish to prejudice it or be found in contempt of court.

What I can say is that Marion Millar, a mother of two vulnerable children, has been charged by Scottish police under the Malicious Communications Act in relation to tweets which are allegedly homophobic and transphobic in nature.

“Notorious homophobe and transphobe” Marion Millar arrives at court on August 31st 2021 with Mr Menno and Seven Hex, a gay man and a transsexual male.

Those charges are ludicrous for at least four reasons: first, Marion is not a homophobe or a transphobe and there are many gay and trans people among her supporters. The image above shows the back seat of Marion’s car as she arrived at court on August 31st 2021 with her friends Mr Menno (a gay man) and Seven Hex (a transsexual male). Second, even Twitter, which is notoriously censorial and hair-triggered when it comes to trans issues has apparently not deemed the tweets in question transphobic or homophobic. It has not suspended Marion’s account and it has not deleted the tweets in question.

Third, a woman is being threatened with up to two years in prison for tweets. One might be offended by a tweet, but nobody has the right not to be offended. Police Scotland’s action of arresting, charging and trying a woman for something as subjective and deliberately ill-defined as ‘hatred’ or ‘offence’ is more chilling – more offensive by far- than anything Marion could possibly have tweeted.

Finally, much worse things are tweeted every single day. Much worse things have been tweeted at Marion (including credible threats, horrible accusations and a great deal of hatred). Much worse things have been tweeted even at me, a very marginal voice on this issue. Much worse is tweeted in enormous volume at women as a matter of banal routine. Children’s authors receive pipe bomb threats. Women are gleefully hounded from public spaces day after day because a small group of people does not like their views or their tenacity.

If Marion is convicted of these insane charges, she faces up to two years in jail. Her vulnerable children will be placed at further risk. Because of tweets. Her business, livelihood, relationship and, now, her home are already at risk because of repeated (and largely successful) efforts by gender identity extremists to shut down every attempt Marion and her supporters make to raise funds for her defence.

I want to be very clear here. Everyone in the UK has the right to mount the best defence they can when they’re charged with a crime. This is the case regardless of the charges or what anyone might believe about their character. Interfering with a person’s ability to mount a defence is not virtuous. It is anti-democratic, it is anti-justice and it is the act of a bully.

Because of these repeated attempts to shut down her ability to mount a defence, Marion has, as of yesterday, stated that she will no longer be seeking financial assistance and has placed her house on the market to raise the money she needs without help. She has done this because she wants to avoid placing further stress on her friends and supporters and putting them in harm’s way.

If you’re one of the people who has interfered with Marion’s ability to mount a defence then you need to stop it at once and carefully examine your motives and your life. I doubt you’d bay so keenly for blood if the cause or the person were ones you admired.

If you didn’t know this was happening, then you do now and have no excuse.

And if you aren’t shouting this travesty from the rooftops then – with a close eye on your own safety – you should be.

This is a terrifying overreach of power by Police Scotland and it’s a matter that affects us all. Unlike those attacking Marion, blinded by their ideology, my position on tweeting would remain the same regardless of the tweets: free speech is essential and must be protected. Some speech has consequences, but those consequences must be in proportion to any offence. Mobs must not rule what may be said in public. My position on mounting a defence would also remain the same, regardless of charges or circumstance: any attempt to interfere with a defence – including fundraising – is anti-democratic and anti-justice. And it’s shameful.

But as it happens, I stand with Marion Millar. I don’t believe for a moment that she’s done anything wrong. I don’t believe she’s transphobic or homophobic. I don’t think she’s hateful or has conducted herself in a hateful way.

She’s guilty of nothing more than standing up for the rights of women in Scotland and refusing to wheesht. This latter remains, as it always has been, the greatest offence a woman can commit.

Marion Millar

#IStandWithMarionMillar

#WomenWontWheesht