{"id":2226905,"date":"2024-04-22T07:37:02","date_gmt":"2024-04-22T11:37:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/european-epicenter-deploys-riot-police-to-stop-conservatives-from-talking\/"},"modified":"2024-04-22T07:45:02","modified_gmt":"2024-04-22T11:45:02","slug":"european-epicenter-deploys-riot-police-to-stop-conservatives-from-talking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/european-epicenter-deploys-riot-police-to-stop-conservatives-from-talking\/","title":{"rendered":"European hub summons riot officers to halt conservative speech"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Feuropean-epicenter-deploys-riot-police-to-stop-conservatives-from-talking%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2226905&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The \u200dattempt to censor a conservative conference in Brussels\u2062 reflects a \u2062troubling \u2062trend of partisan suppression. Legal \u200cintervention by\u2063 ADF International thwarted the cancellation. Similar incidents,\u2063 like the prosecution of Dr.\u2063 P\u00e4ivi \u2062R\u00e4s\u00e4nen for sharing Bible verses, highlight the importance of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/exclusive-cancel-culture-is-a-barrier-sen-blackburn-gop-senators-introduce-legislation-defending-free-speech\/\" title=\"EXCLUSIVE: \u2018Cancel Culture Is A Barrier\u2019: Sen. Blackburn, GOP Senators Introduce Legislation Defending Free Speech\">defending free speech<\/a>. \u2062Upholding principles of liberty and courage is crucial in the face of increasing censorship. Stand against tyranny.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-content\">\n<p>The effort to <a href=\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/news\/nat-con-legal-challenge\">shut down<\/a> a mainstream conservative conference in Brussels last week shows partisan censorship is a serious and mounting problem in the West. Although the attempted cancellation failed\u2014thanks to a <a href=\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/news\/free-speech-prevails-for-nat-con\">legal challenge<\/a> supported by ADF International, the faith-based legal advocacy organization I lead\u2014it is part of a broader, deeply concerning trend.<\/p>\n<p>Take, for example, the <a href=\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/news\/bible-tweet-case-to-be-heard-at-finnish-supreme-court\">news<\/a> on Friday that the \u201chate speech\u201d prosecution of former Finnish interior minister Dr. P\u00e4ivi R\u00e4s\u00e4nen for tweeting Bible verses will be appealed to the country\u2019s Supreme Court. R\u00e4s\u00e4nen has already been unanimously acquitted by two courts, but the ideologically driven effort to punish her for her Christian views continues into its fifth year. Her steadfast response of standing by her faith in the face of this ordeal is a lesson in how to respond to cancel culture: with fortitude.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2-long d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-1033856282\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1379703300879-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-fdb60c969bcb55687d9239a94e0c1637 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-fdb60c969bcb55687d9239a94e0c1637\"><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Meet Tyranny With Courage<\/h2>\n<p>The NatCon episode last week is another example of the necessity of fortitude in the face of tyranny. When the mayor of a small district in Brussels attempted to shut down a major gathering of conservative leaders last Tuesday, the international outcry was immediate.<\/p>\n<p>All eyes were on the European Union capital as the freedoms of speech and assembly hung in the balance. Twelve hours later, the conference was back on by court order, all because a brave group of people were willing to stand up and say, \u201cNo, we won\u2019t accept that. It\u2019s not right.\u201d But it\u2019s unthinkable that an emergency legal challenge had to be mounted to gather in peace in the political heart of Europe.<\/p>\n<p>I was pleased to have been invited to speak at the National Conservatism Conference, hosted in Brussels on April 16 and 17. Looking forward to delivering my talk the following day on \u201cthe crisis of faith and family in Europe,\u201d I approached the venue on the morning of the 16th to see <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Paul_B_Coleman\/status\/1780204149256192386\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">police blocking the entrance<\/a> and a sign that read: \u201cWe are very sorry. The doors are shut.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile\" style=\"grid-template-columns:78% auto\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><\/figure>\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p><em>Image courtesy Alliance Defending Freedom International.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Inside, the participants who had already entered got on with the program. But the rest of us, barred from entry by a police cordon, were later even met by riot police who had absurdly been deployed to this mainstream gathering of politicians, academics, and public figures on a rainy working day in Brussels. What unfolded over the day reveals with startling clarity the crisis of fundamental freedoms in Europe.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-1002aa1f081a3ceeadd1e51bae6e8b6f fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-6\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-1002aa1f081a3ceeadd1e51bae6e8b6f\"><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Criminalizing Talking about Self-Defense<\/h2>\n<p>The National Conservatism Conference has been a recurrent fixture in the mainstream conservative world since its inception in 2019. It brings together different voices to discuss conservative renewal in the context of the nation-state. Ultimately, you can agree or disagree with the views of the speakers (many of whom disagree with each other on certain topics). <\/p>\n<p>Leading up to the event, the conference was canceled by two venues before securing a\u202fthird location near Brussels\u2019 European Quarter.\u202fUnwilling to let the meeting happen on his turf, Emir Kir, the municipal mayor\u2014one of 19 in Brussels\u2014of the district where the third venue is located, issued a last-minute order shutting the whole thing down, claiming a risk to \u201cdisturbing public peace.\u201d Tyranny at its finest.\u202f<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile\" style=\"grid-template-columns:68% auto\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><\/figure>\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p><em>U.K. Member of Parliament Miriam Cates and German Catholic Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig M\u00fcller snuck into the conference venue through this door. Image courtesy Alliance Defending Freedom International.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The order cited participants\u2019 pro-life views among the reasons to enact the draconian censorship measures. It left no room for confusion\u2014the event was stopped because of nothing more than disagreement with the vision behind National Conservatism and the views of its attendees.\u202fThe order states as a reason for the shut-down: \u201cThat this vision is not only ethically conservative (e.g. hostility to the legalization of abortion, same-sex unions, etc.) but also focused on the defense of \u2018national sovereignty\u2019, which implies, among other things, a \u2018Eurosceptic\u2019 attitude.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>So when did the defense of the nation become a crime? While the idea of the sovereign nation-state has been a mainstay of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-anatomy-of-a-stolen-election-the-fraud-cannot-stand\/\" title=\"The Anatomy of a Stolen Election \u2013 The Fraud Cannot Stand\">international order<\/a> since at least the 1648 Treaty of Westphalia, now, the mere mention of \u201cnational sovereignty,\u201d and even worse, a whiff of a \u201cEurosceptic attitude,\u201d is enough to trigger shut-down by dictatorial fiat. The same of course applies to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/all-lives-matter-arkansas-gov-signs-near-total-abortion-ban-that-supporters-hope-will-force-scotus-to-revisit-roe-v-wade\/\" title=\"\u2018All Lives Matter\u2019: Arkansas Gov. Signs Near-Total Abortion Ban That Supporters Hope Will Force SCOTUS To Revisit Roe v. Wade\">pro-life convictions<\/a> and any of the \u201cethically conservative\u201d positions this mayor deemed unsavory enough to warrant this egregious overstep.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-3d91c618dbaa8f054c550e6947f16416 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-10\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-3d91c618dbaa8f054c550e6947f16416\"><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Tyrant\u2019s Textbook<\/h2>\n<p>Here a local official clamped down on an entirely legitimate peaceful gathering solely because he doesn\u2019t agree with the views espoused there. In doing so, he followed a tried-and-true strategy to justify his actions. First, smear speakers as being \u201cdisrespecters of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/us-womens-soccer-team-kneels-for-anthem-wears-black-lives-matter\/\" title=\"US Women's Soccer Team Kneels for Anthem, Wears 'Black Lives Matter'\">human rights<\/a>.\u201d Second, issue vague warnings about looming \u201cpublic disorder.\u201d Third, swiftly shut it down. This is textbook abuse of power.<\/p>\n<p>The censorious order to cancel the event was issued despite the conference posing no threats of violence. I can attest to this, having been relegated to peacefully drinking a cup of tea on the street outside the barricaded event. Also, various high-profile speakers, including former U.K. Home Secretary Suella Braverman, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orb\u00e1n, and Catholic Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig M\u00fcller from Germany, in addition to others, had already arrived in the city. This downright inhospitable behavior was an embarrassment for Brussels on the world stage.   <\/p>\n<p>The conference organizers responded immediately with a legal challenge, supported by ADF International, which is committed to defending fundamental human freedoms. ADF International supported the challenge on the grounds that the mayor acted\u202foutside\u202fhis authority to suppress free and peaceful dialogue\u202fbased on a\u202fpolitically motivated justification\u202fin violation\u202fof freedom of speech and assembly.<\/p>\n<p>Thankfully, in an emergency late-night ruling, the Conseil d\u2019\u00c9tat, the highest court in Belgium relating to issues of public administration, upheld the right to peacefully assemble, allowing the conference to resume without police interference.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Don\u2019t Accept Cancellation<\/h2>\n<p>Notably, Kir, who complained that the conference hosted personalities from \u201cthe conservative, religious right,\u201d was removed from the Socialist Party in Belgium in 2020 for meeting with members of a\u202fTurkish political\u202fparty that has been described as \u201cfar-right\u201d and \u201cultranationalist,\u201d and which supports Turkey\u2019s\u202fAKP\u202fgovernment. So Kir ironically tried to shut down a peaceful gathering under the guise of preventing threats from what his order called the \u201cEuropean extreme right.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Open dialogue should be central to any democratic political discourse. But in Brussels, the political heart of the EU, I have seen firsthand an overt willingness to clamp down on the thoughtful exchange of ideas in violation of basic human rights.<\/p>\n<p>While thankfully commonsense and justice have prevailed, the events of April 16 illuminated Europe\u2019s censorship crisis in a way that we will not soon forget. They also showed the only way of defeating tyranny\u2014by refusing to bow down.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-cc6e1fd82091630cd64f58e5ca4e99ca fdrlst__b89e9-after-post-content\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-cc6e1fd82091630cd64f58e5ca4e99ca\"><\/div>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">    \t\t\t\t\t   \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The recent attempt to silence a mainstream conservative event in Brussels highlights the increasing issue of partisan censorship in the West. Despite a failed cancellation, legal intervention from ADF International, the faith-based legal advocacy group I oversee, thwarted the suppression. This incident signifies a worrying trend that needs attention. Stand against censorship and uphold free speech rights<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1642,"featured_media":2226906,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/GLW8EXhWoAAIPf4.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2226905","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/GLW8EXhWoAAIPf4.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2226905","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1642"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2226905"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2226905\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2226906"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2226905"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2226905"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2226905"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}