A British mother said she was arrested in front of her two children and placed in a cell for seven hours after referring to a transgender activist as a man, the Daily Mail reported.

Three officers detained Kate Scottow, 38, of Hitchin, Hertfordshire, at her home before questioning her at a police station on Dec. 1 over a Twitter exchange with transgender activist Stephanie Hayden, the outlet said.

'With my autistic ten-year-old daughter and breastfed 20-month-old son present'

"I was arrested in my home by three officers, with my autistic ten-year-old daughter and breastfed 20-month-old son present," Scottow wrote on the Mumsnet online forum, the Daily Mail said. "I was then detained for seven hours in a cell with no sanitary products (which I said I needed) before being interviewed then later released under investigation ... I was arrested for harassment and malicious communications because I called someone out and misgendered them on Twitter."

Scottow — who remains under investigation — had her photograph, DNA, and fingerprints taken and was banned by a court from referring to her accuser as a man, the outlet said.

In addition, Scottow's cellphone and laptop still have been returned to her, the Daily Mail reported, which she said is interfering with masters studies in forensic psychology.



Hertfordshire Police confirmed the arrest, the outlet said, and noted that "we take all reports of malicious communication seriously."

Who complained?

Transgender activist Stephanie Hayden complained about Scottow, which led to her arrest, the Daily Mail said. Hayden also lodged a complaint against sitcom writer Graham Linehan, who was given a verbal harassment warning by West Yorkshire Police for referring to Hayden on Twitter by her previous names and pronouns, the outlet added.

Stephanie Hayden Image source: YouTube screenshot

More from the Daily Mail:

High Court papers obtained by The Mail on Sunday detail how Mrs. Scottow is accused of a "campaign of targeted harassment" against Miss Hayden, allegedly motivated by her "status as a transgender woman."



The papers claim that, as a "toxic" debate raged online over plans to allow people to "self-ID" as another gender, Mrs. Scottow tweeted "defamatory" messages about Miss Hayden.



She is also alleged to have used accounts in two names to "harass, defame, and publish derogatory and defamatory tweets" about Miss Hayden, including referring to her as male, stating she was "racist, xenophobic and a crook" and mocking her as a "fake lawyer."



Mrs. Scottow denied harassing or defaming Miss Hayden and said she holds a "genuine and reasonable belief" that a human "cannot practically speaking change sex," but Deputy Judge Jason Coppel QC issued an interim injunction that bans her from posting any personal information about Miss Hayden on social media, "referencing her as a man," or linking her to her "former male identity."

The outlet said Scottow declined to comment.

British cops have been busy with transgender incidents

Police in Humberside, England, in January questioned a man who retweeted a transgender limerick, calling his actions a "hate incident" and telling him "we need to check your thinking."

A "community cohesion" officer contacted Harry Miller, 53, after a complaint about the plant and machinery dealer's social media posts, The Telegraph reported. Officer Mansoor Gul cited 30 potentially offensive tweets, among them a limerick Miller retweeted that questioned if transgender women are biological women, the paper said.

According to the paper, Gul told Miller he'd taken a training course on the subject and "what you need to understand is that you can have a fetus with a female brain that grows male body parts, and that's what a transgender person is."

The officer added to Miller, "We need to check your thinking," the Telegraph reported.

Miller told the paper he's been inundated with messages from others who are "terrified" of speaking out on transgender issues due to possible police action against them.