Who Is Kayla Denker? Militant Transgender Activist Posing With Assault Rifle

A video of Kayla Denker, a transgender activist, posing with an assault rifle has gone viral following the school shooting in Nashville, Tennessee.

Police said Audrey Hale, the shooter who killed six people at The Covenant School on Monday, identified as transgender, sparking a debate inside and outside the community.

Denker's video, which circulated after the shooting, showed Denker reloading an assault rifle multiple times while staring into the camera. The clip has so far been viewed more than 2.5 million times.

Newsweek has reached out to Denker via email for comment.

The clip was captioned: "While advocating just for trans people to 'arm ourselves' is not any kind of solution to the genocide we are facing, I do want to say that if you transphobes do try to come for me...'"

The remainder of the caption was cut short in the images and reposts shared online. Most of Denker's social media accounts were made private after the clip went viral.

According to a report by San Diego Gay and Lesbian News, the rest of the caption read: "If you transphobes try to come after me, I'll take a few of you with me."

While many social media users have said they have found the video unnerving due to the recent shooting, Denker has previously posted videos on YouTube showing rifles and appears to own guns. Similar videos often circulate on social media from gun activists.

While Denker's Twitter page is now more private, a visible bio addresses the popularity of the clip.

Denker wrote: "The FBI's joint terrorism task force contacted *me* to let me know that they are watching *YALL harassers,* not me. Because I didn't do anything wrong."

According to a Mail Online report, Denker is believed to be a former soldier. However, the report does not explain the source of this information.

Denker has been accused of being a supporter of a supposed event called the "Trans Day of Vengeance."

Reports about the event have largely stemmed from conservative news outlets and been sourced from posts by the Trans Radical Activists Network.

The group reportedly planned to hold the day from March 31-April 1, and had planned this event before the Nashville school shooting. The event was reported to be a "battle cry to declare to the world that we the transgender/non-binary communities will neither be silenced nor eradicated." Reports also suggested that the group might have been fundraising for firearm training.

Newsweek has reached out to TRAN representatives via email for comment.

Some social media users have questioned whether Denker's public GoFundMe, that asks for donations to help with transition costs, would go towards funding "Trans Day of Vengeance." The GoFundMe Page was set up at the beginning of the year on January 4.

Speaking to Newsweek, the FBI's National Press Office said it remains vigilant about issues where illegal activity may occur. It also commented on the Trans Radical Activists Network.

The FBI told Newsweek: "The FBI remains vigilant and works closely with our law enforcement partners on a daily basis to detect, disrupt, and dismantle any threats that may emerge.

"As always, we ask members of the public to report anything they consider suspicious to law enforcement. Additionally, membership in a group is not illegal in and of itself.

"In fact, it is protected by the First Amendment. The FBI will never open an investigation based solely on protected First Amendment activity. We focus on individuals who commit or intend to commit violence and criminal activity that constitutes a federal crime or poses a threat to national security."

According to an Associated Press report, Twitter has already removed thousands of tweets showing a poster promoting the "Trans Day of Vengeance" protest.

Twitter's head of Trust and Safety, Ella Irwin, tweeted that "we do not support tweets that incite violence irrespective of who posts them."

"'Vengeance' does not imply peaceful protest. Organizing or support for peaceful protest is ok," Irwin said.

In removing tweets through an automated process, posts both condemning and supporting the event were removed from the platform, much to the frustration of some conservatives.

Update 3/31/23, 2:43 a.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from the FBI's National Press Office.