'You Are Next:' Cops Investigate Threat to JK Rowling

Harry Potter author JK Rowling expressed support online for Salman Rushdie after he was stabbed—and received a death threat for her trouble. Now police in Scotland are investigating, reports the Hollywood Reporter. On Friday, Rowling tweeted, "Feeling very sick right now. Let him be ok" upon hearing the news about Rushdie. A user with the handle "@MeerAsifAziz1 replied: “Don’t worry you are next." Rowling called out Twitter on Saturday for allowing the reply to remain up, and the New York Times reports it was deleted—and the account suspended—on Sunday.

Twitter has not commented publicly, but Police Scotland confirmed it is looking into the threat. Deadline reports that the suspended user had described himself in his Twitter bio as a "student, social activist, political activist and research activist," and that he had previously praised Rushdie's suspected attacker as a "revolutionary Shia fighter." Warner Bros. Discovery, behind the Harry Potter films, put out a statement of support for Rowling. “We stand with her and all the authors, storytellers and creators who bravely express their creativity and opinions,” it read. (Rowling has previously courted controversy for her stance on the trans community.)