Caitlyn Jenner Blasts 'Rainbow Mafia' as 'Domestic Terrorists' in Tweets

On March 30, as protestors in Tennessee gathered in the aftermath of a shooting at a Christian school, Caitlyn Jenner fired off a series of tweets decrying a "rainbow mafia" she claims are "domestic terrorists."

In the tweets, Jenner declared, "We live in a beautiful country called America, where we are free to be whomever we want. The Radical Rainbow Mafia has hijacked LGBT ppl and is the worst thing that has ever happened to LGBT ppl! They are DOMESTIC TERRORISTS!"

The tweet (which is pinned on Jenner's Twitter feed) appeared to be part of a lengthy string of posts, many of them including the phrase "Radical Rainbow Mafia," in which Jenner made a number of declarations, including "There is no such thing as LGBT community," "The Radical Rainbow Mafia is a domestic terror group... quickly becoming akin to white supremacist orgs," and "The Radical Rainbow Mafia is a threat to peace and order. They are a fringe group of 'activists' hijacking the LGBT population. It is an utter shame! It's beyond a shame...it's DANGEROUS!" among other posts.

Jenner also claimed that "The radical LGBT population has been indoctrinating our children in schools, taking medals from deserving women in sports, and now is justifying a mass shooting for this person to be 'heard,'" evidently referring to the shooter who killed six people at Covenant School in Nashville on March 27.

CNN reported that the shooter "was assigned female at birth and used 'male pronouns' on social media."

Such reports fueled right-wing claims that transgender and non-binary people present a danger, though the same reports neglected to mention the high level of lethal violence that is directed at transgender women, particularly trans women of color.

Jenner retweeted one such claim at the start of her March 30 thread.

Jenner's thread unspooled the same day that "hundreds – if not thousands – of protesters took to the streets surrounding the Tennessee Capitol to demand stronger restrictions on firearm purchases" in the wake of the shooting, Newsweek reported.

Though the protestors had intended only to "sing songs" of protest "and interface with Republican lawmakers," Newsweek noted that "Things grew more heated as the day went on and, that afternoon, video of protesters rushing the doors of the Tennessee Statehouse quickly circulated among conservatives on social media.... who saw the episode as a left-wing 'insurrection' comparable to the Jan. 6, 2021, siege on the U.S. Capitol."

The Newsweek article went on to note that conservative posts "claimed the protests were led by transgender activists," and recalled that right-wing narratives have mischaracterized a "Trans Day of Vengeance" meme on social media.

Conservative posts dubbed the putative "insurrection" at the Tennessee Statehouse a "transurrection," a word that Jenner relayed in her own posts.

However, Newsweek noted, the so-called "insurrection" in Nashville "was anything but."

In its fact-check of the social media claims, Newsweek said that "While the crowd... did grow heated at one juncture, photos taken within hours of the protest showed the halls of the statehouse were cleared of protesters a little bit past lunchtime..."

Added the Newsweek report: "Meanwhile, unedited video of the protest showed the one student apprehended by police surrendered peacefully, with their hands clearly in the air – a sharp contrast to images from January 6 of police officers being attacked by rioters with blunt objects."

One social media post explained that "This was a peaceful protest. Students, parents and their supporters went through Capitol security to lobby for gun control in the Capitol. No one was arrested."

As for the moment when things became tense, "This shoving started when THP [Tennessee Highway Patrol] needed to make way for lawmakers."

Newsweek also reported that the video Jenner had retweeted with her "transsurection" post was, in fact, "video of several elected members of the legislature – Representatives Justin Jones, Justin Pearson and Gloria Johnson – who had seized the microphone out of turn to express solidarity with the protesters and demand the legislature take action on gun bills," and not footage of violent protestors storming the floor of the state's House of Representatives.

Back on Twitter, the former Olympian and reality show star drew criticism from several drag artists.

Jenner responded by doubling down on her denial that the LGBTQ+ community is a community.

On March 31, Jenner repeated the "transurrection" narrative when, in Kentucky, protestors made their voices heard as state lawmakers there overrode the veto of Gov. Andy Beshear to sweep into law a measure that, Truthout reported, "bans trans students from using restrooms or other school facilities that correspond with their gender," as well as "allows teachers and students to misgender trans students, and bars schools from creating policies against anti-trans bullying."

"It also bars educators from discussing sexual orientation or gender identity at any grade level – restrictions that go even further than Florida's infamous 'Don't Say Gay' law."

However, though 19 protestors were arrested, no hours-long riot or assaults on law enforcement seemed to have taken place at the Kentucky Statehouse, as happened at the U.S. Capitol Building on January 6, 2021.