Incarcerated woman pens support for gender critical women's tour combatting gender ideology in the US

Tomiekia Johnson, incarcerated at the Central California Women's Correctional Facility, penned her support for Kellie-Jay Keen and other gender-critical women from the UK as they begin their US tour to combat gender ideology

Johnson was sentenced to 50 years in prison for killing her abusive husband during a struggle that ended in a fatal gunshot. Despite there being video evidence of her husband abusing her shortly before the fatal incident, her trial failed to take into account the history of abuse she had suffered right up to the moment of her abuser’s death.

"From day one I felt betrayed by California," Johnson said in a video released by the Women’s Liberation Front (WoLF). "I felt like they knew I was a survivor of domestic violence. There was plenty of evidence to suggest that, and instead of treating me like a victim of domestic violence, I got treated like a criminal. And I was harshly charged, I was harshly sentenced."

Johnson is one of five plaintiffs suing the California Department of Corrections seeking to overturn law SB 132 which permits male inmates to be housed in women’s prisons based on their self-declared "female gender identity."

The lawsuit, which was filed by the Women’s Liberation Front, accuses the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation of endangering women by housing biological males in women’s prisons.

"If we women are endeavoring to demonstrate to men how their choices have infringed upon and impeded ours, we must do so as a team," Johnson said in her statement to the Standing for Women Speaker’s Corner event.

The event took place on Hollywood Boulevard and was the first stop of a US tour by British gender critical activist Kellie-Jay Keen, a campaigner for women’s sex-based rights and vocal critic of the modern gender ideology movement.

"Perhaps there is an effective leader in us all," continued Johnson’s statement. "She has been hated, terrorized, defamed, slandered, emotionally assaulted, criticized, unfairly judged, and depressed. All these shocking facts should help us know what women from different spaces have experienced."

Johnson stressed the importance of setting aside differences and listening to the experiences of women.

"When she screams, whispers, cusses or punches - we should have an idea why," concluded the statement. "This is our cue to listen to her pain, thoughts, and ideas…The leader in us will find points to coalesce around, and tiny steps will gracefully manifest. Then the strangest beautiful things will be accomplished that benefits all."

SB 132 was introduced by California state Senator Scott Weiner, the Democrat also responsible for SB107, which makes California a sanctuary for children and teens seeking highly experimental medical transition procedures. 

Under SB 132, inmates must be housed according to their gender identity, which means fully intact biological males, even those with a history of violence against women, can declare a “female gender identity” and be housed in a women’s prison.

Johnson's family has launched a petition to get her sentence commuted.