Europe

Stephanie Slade | 4.16.2024 5:05 PM

This is not how leaders of a free society behave.

At 7:29 Eastern time this morning, the @NatConTalk account on the website formerly known as Twitter reported that police in Brussels, Belgium, had arrived at the site of the second Brussels-based National Conservatism Conference "with an order to shut NatCon down for creating a public disturbance." An English translation of the order shared by a lawyer cites the fact that participants are from the "conservative and religious right" and that they express a "'Eurosceptic' attitude" as reasons for prohibiting the two-day event.

The document also claims that "it cannot be ruled out that…extremist groups are associating themselves with this event" and that the conference "could undeniably lead to violent reactions." It is signed by Emir Kir, mayor of the Saint-Josse-ten-Nood municipality and a member of Belgium's Socialist Party.

Police didn't, in the end, break up Day 1 of the NatCon Brussels 2 program, but they did prevent anyone not already inside, including scheduled speakers, from entering the venue, according to subsequent posts from organizers and attendees. They also........

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