Let Women Speak Sheffield: Man charged with assault after soup dumped on anti-trans organiser Kellie-Jay Keen

The ‘Let Women Speak’ event in front of Sheffield City Hall on Saturday, September 21, was attended by dozens of both supporters and counter-protestors.

Shortly before 1pm, a can of soup was reportedly poured on organiser Kellie-Jay Keen, aka Posey Parker, by a man who approached her from behind.

A man was arrested shortly after.

Ben Lindsay, 34, of Fitzwilliam Street, Barnsley, is charged with two counts of assault by beating over the incident. He has been released on conditional bail and will appear before Sheffield Magistrates' Court on November 25.

Kellie-Jay Keen is described as a women’s rights activist and is a single issue campaigner opposed to trans-women in female spaces. She is a self-described transphobe and has repeatedly stated in speeches and videos that she is not a feminist, once stating on a live-stream: “In order to save women, I think we have to abandon feminism.”

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The 50-year-old previously had tomato juice thrown on her by a counter protestor during a Let Women Speak tour in New Zealand in 2023.

In September 2022, in response to Eddie Izzard's announcement of her plan to run for MP of Sheffield Central, Ms Keen announced her own plan to run for MP, saying she would "campaign on the basis of repealing the Gender Recognition Act" and "erase the word 'gender'”.

She is the founder and leader of the Party Of Women political party. Prior to its launch in July 2023, and in response to Pride that June, Ms Keen was frequently quoted as saying: “After the rainbows, we are bringing a storm.”

Ms Keen stood for MP in Bristol Central in the 2024 General Election and came last place with 196 votes, or 0.5 per cent of the share.