JK Rowling suggests pro-transgender policies are to blame after pedophile allegedly attacked two women in Planet Fitness gym's female locker room

Published: 10:08 EDT, 6 October 2026 | Updated: 10:11 EDT, 6 October 2026 JK Rowling suggested pro-transgender policies were to blame after a convicted pedophile was arrested for allegedly assaulting two women in the female changing room of a Massachusetts gym.'The thing that never happens and could never happen and that only evil people predicted would happen has happened again,' The Harry Potter author said on X in response to a post about the October 1 incident.Police in Cambridge, Massachusetts, arrested Laquan Holland, 40, after he was accused of sexually assaulting multiple people in a Planet Fitness women's locker room, Boston 25 News reported. There is no evidence suggesting that Holland identified as transgender at any point of his life. But Rowling says pro-trans policies that let anyone use the changing room that aligns with their self-declared gender identity are being exploited by predators like Holland. Holland, who was a Planet Fitness member, went into the location in Porter Square and sexually assaulted a woman. The second victim was a woman who had tried to intervene and stop the attack, according to WCVB. Prosecutors said: 'The second victim told officers she had learned of a possible sexual assault, saw the defendant and the first victim, heard the first victim ask for help and attempted to intervene to assist that first victim. The defendant then touched private areas on the second victim's body without her consent,' WCVB reported. Holland was arraigned on two counts of rape, two counts of assault and battery, as well as kidnapping ad witness intimidation, according to NBC Boston. The rape suspect, Laquan Holland, was a Planet Fitness member who entered the women's locker room and sexually assaulted two women, including one who tried to stop the initial attack The incident happened around 9am at the Planet Fitness location inside of Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts JK Rowling said that Holland's alleged sex attacks showed what happened when people were allowed to use facilities which aligned with their self-declared gender identity Holland is a repeat offender and proved guilty to two counts of child rape and one count of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 in 2006, court records seen by The Boston Globe show. 'The franchise group has cancelled the membership of the individual involved and is working with local law enforcement to support their investigation into this matter,' the gym wrote in a statement. The incident remains under investigation. Rowling denies that she is transphobic and says she is concerned that women's rights are being usurped by transgender rights.She says she supports people's right to dress and present as they wish - but that biological men who identify as women should not be permitted to enter female-only spaces, or compete in female sports. Rowling's views are shared by a majority of Americans - Democrats among them, polling has found.She has been castigated by Harry Potter co-stars Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson for her opinions, with Watson taking a dig at Rowling at an awards show. Last year, Rowling branded Watson, who played Hermione Granger, a hypocrite and suggested the actress was detached from reality. Rowling said Watson's views are a result of 'never having experienced an adult life uncushioned by wealth and fame,' she wrote in an X post last year. 'Emma has so little experience of real life she's ignorant of how ignorant she is. She'll never need a homeless shelter. She's never going to be placed on a mixed sex public hospital ward. I'd be astounded if she's been in a high street changing room since childhood.'