Nine people were arrested at the "Let Women Speak" event at New York City Hall as women’s rights and transgender rights activists faced off in the street.
Organized by the feminist group Standing for Women, the "Let Women Speak" tour held events in ten cities. The New York event was the last stop.
“Trans rights activists continue to be the very best advertisement women could ask for when it comes to highlighting the violence and misogyny at the root of the insidious cult that is gender ideology,” said Kellie-Jay Keen, Founder of Standing for Women, in a press release sent to Timcast. “That they chose to begin ‘Trans Awareness Week’ with assaults on women — among them seniors, lesbians and sexual assault survivors — is just the cherry on top of the misogyny sundae that has been the Let Women Speak 2022 USA Tour.” Antifa and leftist activists try to breach the gate at the “Stop Female Erasure” rally, NYPD struggles to fend them off pic.twitter.com/D9d9vGFM8C
— Timcast News (@TimcastNews) November 14, 2022
Approximately thirty-five women gathered for the event around 12:30 PM on Nov. 15 and shared stories of harm they or their children have experienced due to modern gender ideology. The organizers have said other supporters were unable to reach the event because of barricades set up by the New York City Police Department.
The NYPD deployed at least 50 officers to the location, including members of its anti-terrorism unit, according to a press release from Standing for Women.
Trans-rights activists gathered at the event to protest, objecting to the tour as a “TERF” – or Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminist – event.
According to Speaking for Women, TERF is a term used by members of Antifa “to dehumanize women in order to make it socially acceptable to be violent toward them.”
The protestors chanted “TERFs go home!” and yelled slurs like “bitch,” “c---” and “dyke” at the demonstrators. Some attempted to break through the police barricades. Topless transgender activists argue with and threaten rally goers
“Ima beat your ass .. these hands do not discriminate” pic.twitter.com/F48jBBdEtS
— Timcast News (@TimcastNews) November 14, 2022
Speaking for Women said Orange is the New Black actor Matt McGorry, who describes himself as an activist and intersectional feminist on Twitter, attended the protest and was filmed joining in the derogatory chants.
Demonstrators attending on behalf of the women’s organization carried signs that read “Self love, not surgery” and “We are the mothers — and we won’t back down.”
“In Monday's footage, the NYPD can be heard telling the demonstrators to disperse because they were blocking pedestrian traffic. Many appeared to ignore the order and some were seen confronting uniformed officers,” per Fox News.
Eventually, the clashes between protesters and demonstrators became violent and law enforcement ended the speaking event early. Law enforcement has said a total of 115 people from both sides were involved in the clash.
New York Daily News reports “it wasn’t immediately clear if those handcuffed would be criminally charged or issued summonses.”
Violence has broken out between demonstrators and protestors in several major cities during the course of the speaking tour.
“In DC, police had to intervene after transgender rights activists began blowing alarms to disrupt the event,” reports The Post Millenial. “On the west coast, event attendees were assaulted in Washington, and a stop in Portland was canceled after threats of violence from local Antifa members.”
Footage from the events will be used in Standing for Women’s upcoming documentary.
