Both strip searched at police station despite absence of charges or court conviction
Belgian police arrested Canadian activist Chris Elston, known as Billboard Chris, and Lois McLatchie Miller, a senior staff member at the legal advocacy group ADF International, for holding signs that read “Children are never born in the wrong body.” The incident occurred in Brussels on June 5 as the two stood surrounded by a crowd.
The pair were not engaging in disruptive behavior but were displaying the signs peacefully when an angry mob gathered around them, according to ADF International.
Instead of addressing the crowd’s aggression, police intervened by detaining both individuals and transporting them to separate police stations, said the group.
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Elston and McLatchie Miller were held for several hours before being released without charge.
Both were subjected to a strip search at the station despite the absence of any formal charges or a court conviction, ADF International pointed out.
At the police station, authorities informed the two that their signs would be destroyed. There has been no official explanation as to why the signs are being confiscated or on what legal basis they are being destroyed, given that no charges were filed.
Paul Coleman, Executive Director of ADF International, condemned the arrests and treatment of McLatchie Miller.
Coleman said the Belgian authorities “not only failed to uphold the fundamental right to speak freely, they turned the power of the state against those who were peacefully exercising their rights at the behest of a mob.”
He added that the incident reflected a level of authoritarianism that his organization normally associates with countries outside the European Union. ADF International is relieved, he continued, that McLatchie Miller has been released safely, but they remain “deeply concerned by her treatment at the hands of the police in Brussels.”
ADF International is reviewing legal avenues to challenge the police actions. The group stated it would consider “all legal options to uphold free speech rights in Belgium.”
The arrests come one year after an attempt by a Brussels mayor to shut down the National Conservatism Conference. At that time, ADF International intervened with emergency legal measures that led to the event being reinstated.
Coleman said his organization will continue to advocate against what it views as the criminalization of peaceful citizens. “We will not stand by while peaceful citizens are criminalized for speaking out on vital issues — especially when it’s the safety and well-being of children at stake.”
The arrest in Brussels followed recent international attention on Elston.
In May, Elston praised the Trump administration after the U.S. State Department condemned Australia for ordering the takedown of one of his X posts. Elston called the high-level backing “a bit surreal” as he awaited a tribunal ruling in Melbourne on the notice that targeted his words.
