An anti-trans speech by a former Washington University youth gender case worker turned to chaos on Friday when the UK venue was overtaken by 6,000 crickets — released by a group of young activists with Trans Kids Deserve Better.
Video below (posted by journalist Michael Baggs) shows rows of purple chairs teeming with the shiny brown insects as creeped out spectators stand in the aisles.
"Squash them, squash them, squash," someone says over a mic. But by the looks of the scuttling crowd, it looks like squashing bugs takes a back seat to hitting the exit doors.
From LGBTQ Nation:
On Friday, a group of youth activists released over 6,000 crickets at an anti-trans hate group's conference in the United Kingdom.
The bugs were released during an event of the LGB Alliance, interrupting a speech by anti-trans advocate Jamie Reed regarding transgender healthcare. The group Trans Kids Deserve Better claims credit for the action.
Police were called to the event but made no arrests. The protestors were, however, escorted off the premises.
The British group LGB Alliance was founded in 2019 to oppose the trans advocacy organization Stonewall. Reed is a former Washington University case worker who has since entered the public eye as a "whistleblower" for gender-affirming care. Many of her claims, however, have been disputed by patients she served.
The conference was not about gay rights but rather about opposing transgender rights and healthcare.
Previously: Things got creepy in a New York courtroom when someone released hundreds of cockroaches