‘An assault on free speech’: US uni event cancelled by gender ideology activists

A speaker warning about radical gender ideology was silenced as a violent protest broke out at the University of Washington event.

Invited guest Olivia Krolczyk was scheduled to speak last week as a Riley Gaines Center Ambassador, but hundreds of students turned up to stop her.

The demonstrators came with placards blocking the entrance and exit points of the building. They later turned violent, setting off fire alarms and smashing a window.

Violent protest

The protesters, led by a group calling itself Students for a Democratic Society, told the school newspaper: “We’re holding a rally to celebrate the trans community and show that transphobia will not be tolerated on campus,” adding they aimed to show people that “we’re not these dangerous, demonified, awful people.”

Krolczyk described the events, saying: “There was graffiti all over the building. They broke the windows, threw the noise makers in, had lights, were yelling, were in my face.”

Riley Gaines, a champion swimmer turned women’s rights campaigner, took to social media to support Krolczyk during the disruptions, writing: “Protestors have barricaded her in a room, pulled the fire alarms, and are banging on the door.

“She can’t evacuate the building at this point. These activists need to be in jail.”

‘Assault’

The Riley Gaines Center called the protests an “assault on free speech”.

utter disregard for our safety and our rights to free speech

However, the University of Washington saw the chaos as a publicity stunt, commenting: “Informed discussion and debate are encouraged on our campus, however, it is clear that presenters and disruptors are, in some cases, seeking to antagonize one another in ways that provide dramatic content for their social media feeds”.

Krolczyk accused the university of showing “utter disregard for our safety and our rights to free speech.”