Women’s rights campaigner cautioned for damaging trans activist's umbrella after asking him to stop disrupting speaking event

Police in Scotland have ordered Susan Smith, co-director of For Women Scotland, to appear at a police station over a confrontation with a male trans activist at a women’s rights rally outside Holyrood last month. Smith could face vandalism charges for the incident.

Smith, 54, is accused of damaging an umbrella belonging to activist Tom Harlow—real name Thomas Michael Moncrieff Carlin—after asking him to lower the volume of the music he was blasting to drown out speeches at the “Women Won’t Wait” rally.

Harlow, a drag performer who goes by Cabaret Against the Hate Speech, frequently counter-protests feminist gatherings and has received public funding through the Scottish Government’s arts agency, Creative Scotland.

Video and photos from the September 4 event show Smith and Harlow briefly interacting for about 20 seconds, but the images do not appear to show any damage to the umbrella. Witnesses said Smith approached politely before Harlow opened the umbrella in her face and used it to block her. “From all the images and videos I’ve seen I don’t believe there was any damage done,” one attendee said. “It’s very hard not to think that these types of men just want to silence women, and the police take their complaints seriously but ignore complaints from women.”

Smith is one of the founders of For Women Scotland, the group that successfully challenged the Scottish Government at the Supreme Court earlier this year over the legal definition of “woman," reports the Daily Mail.

Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay said the case exposes “how Police Scotland remains under the spell of the SNP’s extreme and discredited trans ideology.” He added, “You have to ask if the national force’s response to this petty stooshie over an umbrella is proper and proportionate, and what message it sends to women fighting to protect their rights.”

Police Scotland confirmed an investigation is ongoing. Smith is expected to reject an offer of a police warning, which could result in formal vandalism charges and possible bail conditions preventing her from entering Holyrood.

The rally, organized by For Women Scotland, was held to protest the Scottish Government’s delay in implementing the Supreme Court’s ruling that sex is based on biological reality—a decision the government has yet to fully enforce across schools, prisons, and public facilities.