Latest news with #McLatchieMiller
Yahoo
15 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
'Billboard Chris' sounds off after arrest in 'most woke city' for opposing transgender treatments for kids
Conservative activists warned about the threat to free speech in Europe after they were arrested in Brussels, Belgium on Thursday for holding signs opposing transgender medical treatments for children. Chris Elston, better known as "Billboard Chris," and Alliance Defending Freedom International senior legal communications officer Lois McLatchie Miller spoke to Fox News Digital after they were released, hours after being harassed by a crowd and taken into police custody. Elston, well known for wearing billboards decrying transgender medical care for children out in public, stood out in the streets of the Belgian capital alongside McLatchie Miller. Both wore billboards with the messages, "Children are never born in the wrong body" and "Children cannot consent to puberty blockers." Elston travels the world to spread his message, which he says mostly receives positive feedback. But in Brussels, it was mostly opposition. Police Arrest 'Billboard Chris,' Christian Activist In Eu Capital For Denouncing Child Transgender Treatments "It was pretty much non-stop abuse and harassment," Elston told Fox News Digital. "It quickly became apparent that this is probably the most woke city I have been to in my five years of campaigning, and nothing else comes close." Read On The Fox News App "We had a man throw a glass bottle at us. It landed behind me, but right in front of a five-year-old girl who was walking with her dad, smashed on the ground. People were telling me I needed to get out of there because Antifa was going to come, and no matter where we walked in the city, we were getting a lot of grief," he added. After one man continually harassed McLatchie Miller, the pair called the police for protection. Instead, they were told if they didn't remove their signs, they would be arrested. They were then detained, strip-searched and had their signs confiscated, before they were released three hours later with no formal charge, Elston said. "They put us in handcuffs and everything, but they just let us go, and it seems they just wanted to get rid of us instead of dealing with the angry, unruly mob," he added. The activists were in Brussels this week to share their message and discuss policy issues with members of the European Parliament. Free Speech Advocates Praise Trump Admin For Speaking Out On Global Censorship McLatchie Miller, who works for the faith-based legal organization, Alliance Defending Freedom International, said it was surprising to find herself detained, when she is usually fighting for ADF clients whose speech has been silenced by local authorities. "I don't think we were quite prepared to expect this level of hostility here in Brussels, but hopefully it exposes some things that need to be exposed about the need to protect freedom of expression in Europe," she told Fox News Digital. Vice President JD Vance recently sounded the alarm about free speech being under threat in Europe. In a speech in Munich in February, he raised the case of a British army veteran who was arrested and charged for silently praying in an abortion buffer zone to warn that Europe appeared to be retreating from some of its fundamental values it shares with the U.S. and adopting "Soviet-era" censorship. McLatchie Miller said her arrest "really represents the free speech crisis that Europe is facing right now." Vance Is Right About Free Speech. That's What Makes Eu And Us Leftists So Mad "Vance pointed this out in his Munich speech just a few months ago, and many people in Europe laughed at him and said that this wasn't true," she continued. "But case after case, time after time, we're seeing this assault on free speech unfold." "As Chris and I were just there sharing a very peaceful message, a very important message, that no child has ever been born in the wrong body, and they do not need drugs and scalpels to fix themselves, they need love and affirmation. It's an opinion that's shared by many people across Europe, and yet the authorities came and shut down that conversation in the streets of this capital city, this heart of the European Union." "If free speech is not accessible here in Europe's alleged home of democracy, then it's not accessible anywhere, and it really does raise an alarm bell," she said. Brussels police did not immediately return a request for comment. Their arrest comes at a time when Elston believes there is a growing movement across the globe of those questioning or criticizing transitioning children. "We're making tremendous progress all across the globe," he said. He cited European countries like Finland, Denmark, and the United Kingdom which now discourage giving puberty blockers to children experiencing gender dysphoria. "The truth is spreading," he added. Elston said he speaks to people on both sides of the aisle who share his concerns about transitioning children, and he believes it was one major issue that swung voters away from the Democratic Party in the 2024 election. "This was the number one issue in the U.S. election that caused swing voters to vote for President Donald Trump," he argued. "It wasn't the economy, it wasn't immigration, it was transgender insanity. And even in these Democrat states, a lot of those voters are sick and tired of this." Fox News' Gabriel Hays contributed to this article source: 'Billboard Chris' sounds off after arrest in 'most woke city' for opposing transgender treatments for kids
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Police arrest ‘Billboard Chris,' Christian activist in EU capital for denouncing child transgender treatments
Belgian police arrested a prominent conservative activist and an Alliance Defending Freedom International employee in the European Union capital of Brussels on Thursday while they were displaying signs opposing transgender medical treatment for kids. Chris Elston, also known as "Billboard Chris," and ADF International official Lois McLatchie Miller were detained by Brussels police while protesting gender-affirming care for children. They were released after several hours and not charged but were instructed to destroy their signs. "Chris and I were arrested for stating a simple truth in public: no child is born in the wrong body. I called the police because we were being surrounded and felt threatened. But instead of addressing the aggression of the mob, the police arrested us—two people standing peacefully with signs, open to conversation," McLatchie Miller told Fox News Digital. Marjorie Taylor Greene Pushes Bill To Punish Those Who Perform Gender Transition Measures On Minors "That this happened in the heart of Europe is deeply troubling. If speaking up for children is now grounds for arrest, then our freedom to speak the truth on any important issue is truly in danger," the ADF International employee added. Elston, well known for wearing billboards decrying transgender medical treatment for children out in public, stood out in the streets of the Belgian capital alongside McLatchie Miller. Both wore billboards, with the ADF employee's sign reading, "Children are never born in the wrong body" and Elston's reading, "Children cannot consent to puberty blockers." Read On The Fox News App According to ADF International's press release, the signs drew a crowd of onlookers, some of whom got aggressive. In a video recorded before their arrest, Elston showed Brussels police forming a ring around him and his colleague to keep onlookers from getting too close. "And we have quite a scene unfolding in Brussels, Belgium," Elston said in the recording. "We have been getting incredibly harassed for about the last hour. We've remained perfectly calm as always, having conversations about what is the greatest child abuse scandal in modern medicine history." New House Bill Would Make Trump Ban On Transgender Troops Permanent Elston continued, saying they were the ones who called the police to protect them from harassment; however, he noted that the officers then ordered them to put away their signs. "We called the police because a man was harassing and following Lois everywhere she went, trying to stop us from filming. The police have now arrived, and they've told me I have to put – and Lois – they've told us we have to put our signs away. I have refused. He said I was violating the law. I said, 'What law?' He can't name it," he said. Elston added that he was told he was going to be arrested, stating, "So I said, 'That's fine. Go ahead.'" Click Here For More Coverage Of Media And Culture ADF International's press release stated the two were eventually arrested and taken to two separate police stations, where they were "ordered to remove their clothes and searched." They were released several hours later. In a statement, ADF International executive director Paul Coleman ripped Brussels' government for the action. "The Belgian authorities not only failed to uphold the fundamental right to speak freely, they turned the power of the state against those who were peacefully exercising their rights at the behest of a mob," he said. "This is the type of authoritarianism we challenge in other parts of the world, and it's deeply disturbing to see it here in the very heart of Europe. While we are grateful our colleague has been safely released, we are deeply concerned by her treatment at the hands of the police in Brussels," Coleman added. Fox News Digital reached out to the Belgian police for comment but did not immediately receive a article source: Police arrest 'Billboard Chris,' Christian activist in EU capital for denouncing child transgender treatments
Fox News
30-03-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Musk and a Canadian man sue Australian authorities for censoring his X post
The Australian government has been taken to court by an internet personality known as "Billboard Chris," who challenged the nation's "eSafety" commission's authority to geo-block a tweet criticizing the appointment of an Australian transgender activist to a World Health Organization board. Chris Elston, a Canadian national who often expresses his free speech through slogans and tweets on sandwich boards in public places, had a tweet of his geo-blocked by the Aussies – which was a 'share' of a U.K. Daily Mail article about the transgender activist headlined "Kinky secrets of UN trans expert revealed." The activist, Teddy Cook, filed a complaint with Australia's eSafety commissioner, which led to a request for X to censor it. X initially refused, but assented after the government issued a formal order to do so, according to Alliance Defending Freedom International, which is backing Elston. Elston is challenging the move before the Administrative Review Tribunal on Monday. "I'm in Australia because their government think their people don't deserve to know and to make their own mind up about toxic gender ideology," the London-based ADFI's Lois McLatchie Miller said on X ahead of the case. "This post from @BillboardChris has been withheld in Australia in response to a legal demand; learn more," a message on the tweet's URL posted by McLatchie Miller from the Land Down Under read. "Is that image offensive? Absolutely. It's offensive to my eyes, because someone appointed as a WHO expert should not be posting those perverted photos, and promoting drugs and bestiality," she added, citing content from the Daily Mail piece. Speaking with Fox News Digital, McLatchie Miller said the situation is a "monumental" case for global free speech, and "the ultimate 'What is a Woman' suit." "It's an Australian authority bucking the speech of a Canadian man on an American platform," she said. "So the Australian authorities have found that because they don't want Australians to be able to hear a message and discuss a certain topic, they have now reached over to other countries to block that free speech, which is in and of itself fascinating." "Over the last few weeks, when it comes to foreign governments having very surreal policies which are thought to only impact their citizens and their citizens' human rights, but also the rights for Americans, rights for Canadians, others around the world," McLatchie Miller said. Elston had also recently been fined AU$806 ($508) for "obstructing people" and removed from a public sidewalk by law enforcement after he engaged with passersby about another message on his sandwich board: "Children cannot consent to puberty blockers." McLatchie Miller's group noted the case echoed recent stated concerns about global censorship from Vice President JD Vance at the Munich Security Conference earlier this year. Vance also brought up his concerns in a joint presser with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. "We also know that there have been infringements on free speech that actually affect not just the British – of course, what the British do in their own country is up to them – but also affect American technology companies and, by extension, American citizens," Vance said at the time. Fox News Digital reached out to Vance's office for comment on being invoked in the case. ADFI advocacy director Robert Clarke said in a statement on Elston's case: "The decision of Australian authorities to prevent Australian citizens from hearing and evaluating information about gender ideology is a patronizing affront to the principles of democracy." X is also challenging a six-figure penalty imposed by Australia in 2023 after failing to provide information on how it was addressing exploitation and abuse on its platform, according to Fox News Digital reached out to Australian eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant's office for comment.
