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Police in Scotland on Sunday said they are investigating reports of an online threat against author J.K. Rowling after she tweeted in support of Salman Rushdie.
The chilling threat against the “Harry Potter” creator came after she posted “feeling very sick right now. Let him be ok” on Friday, in reference to Rushdie being stabbed while he was giving a lecture in upstate New York.
“Don’t worry you are next,” a Twitter user replied to Rowling’s post.
A spokesperson for Scotland’s police said, “We have received a report of an online threat being made and officers are carrying out enquiries.”
Rowling on Saturday also confirmed cops were involved after she shared screenshots of the threatening tweet and another by the same user praising the man who allegedly attacked Rushdie.
The account, using the name Meer Asif Aziz, called stabbing suspect Hadi Matar a “revolutionary Shia fighter [who] followed the fatwa of late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini,” in reference to an order from the late Iranian leader targeting the “Satanic Verses” author.
Rowling, 57, also shared a screenshot showing she had reported the user to Twitter but was told no action would be taken because “there were no violations of the Twitter rules in the content you reported.”
“These are your guidelines, right? ‘Violence: You may not threaten violence against an individual or a group of people. We also prohibit the glorification of violence…,” she wrote in a rebuke of the social media site.
The account appeared to be suspended as of Sunday afternoon.
The film company behind the Harry Potter movies, Warner Bros Discovery, “strongly condemned” the threats against Rowling.
“We stand with her and all the authors, storytellers and creators who bravely express their creativity and opinions,” the company said in statement, according to the Guardian.
“WBD believes in freedom of expression, peaceful discourse and supporting those who offer their views in the public arena.”
It added: “Our thoughts are with Sir Salman Rushdie and his family following the senseless act of violence in New York. The company strongly condemns any form of threat, violence or intimidation when opinions, beliefs and thoughts might differ.”
Rushdie, 74, was off a ventilator and recovering following Friday’s attack at the Chautauqua Institution that caused damage to his liver and severed nerves in his arms.
Alleged perp Matar, 24, of Fairview, New Jersey, pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and assault charges Saturday in what a prosecutor called “a targeted, unprovoked, preplanned attack.”
In 1989, Iran’s Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa ordering Muslims to kill Rushdie after alleging his novel “The Satanic Verses” mocked the religion.
With Post wires
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