The conservative commentator Matt Walsh, known for his focus on transgender issues, said Wednesday he canceled a planned speech due to threats against his family.
“Sadly I have to postpone my speech at Washington and Lee University. Due to threats against my family and other serious security concerns in Nashville this week, I cannot leave my family and fly to another state. I hate to push the event off but my wife and kids come first,” tweeted Walsh.
Both Walsh and the Daily Wire, the conservative media company he works for, are based in Nashville, Tenn., where the horrific attack on The Covenant School took place on Monday. The school shooting left six dead, including three nine-year-olds, and was perpetrated by 28-year-old Audrey Hale, who police said was transgender.
Earlier this week, a reporter drew criticism for a now-deleted tweet that appeared to link the shooting to Walsh’s commentary, which is often controversial, and the commentary of his colleagues at the Daily Wire, according to the New York Post.
Walsh clarified in a later post that “the potential danger is at home” and doesn’t have anything to do with the planned event at Washington and Lee, which is in Virginia. “I will not let any harm come to my children or my wife. And I will not let these psychopaths scare me into silence. Neither of those things will ever happen, I promise you,” Walsh added.
National Review reached out to Walsh for more detail on the threats, but did not hear back by press time.
Walsh is best known for his online film released by the Daily Wire entitled What is a Woman? In it, he “questions the logic behind [the] gender ideology movement,” as the Daily Wire puts it. The documentary sees Walsh interview several people with knowledge of transgender issues, including a psychiatrist, a gender studies professor, and the father of a transgender boy.