In its efforts to unite amid infighting, the French political Left and in particular, the hard-left La France Insoumise (LFI), has excluded prominent figures.
Socialists (PS), The Greens (EELV), Communists and other Left and hard-left parties hope to join forces to combat both French President Emmanuel Macron and a surging National Rally (RN) with the snap general elections looming.
Yet, in their creation of the so-called New Popular Front, LFI left out prominent figures from its own side.
The party dropped MPs Raquel Garrido, Danièle Simonnet, Hendrik Davi, Frédéric Mathieu, and Alexis Corbière, apparently seen as a threat by LFI founder and de facto leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon.
According to the left-wing newspaper Le Monde, that “is yet another sign of the authoritarian and sectarian practices that prevail within LFI”.
“This settling of scores was the worst possible message to send at the dawn of this new union,” it commented.
While convincing the other parties that he would hold no grudges towards them over past issues, the same did not seem to hold true within LFI for Mélenchon, where several anti-establishment figures did not got a place on the list.
“All this is a purge, a political punishment that has only one person responsible: Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who settles his scores,” Corbière said. “You don’t make society more democratic with such methods. Even private companies don’t act this way.”
Garrido spoke of “disgusting methods”, adding: “Shame on you Jean-Luc Mélenchon. It’s sabotage. But I will do better. We will do better.”
Je découvre à l’instant que LFI a décidé de ne pas m’accorder l’investiture. On me fait payer le crime de lèse-Mélenchon. C’est fort regrettable, au moment précis où, avec le #NouveauFrontPopulaire, nous incarnons un nouveau projet démocratique pour le pays. Hier une salle de 300… pic.twitter.com/fK7h2V3QJu
LFI member Adrien Quatennens, on the other hand, a close ally to Mélenchon, did make the cut. That was despite being convicted for domestic violence in 2022 and given a four-month suspended prison sentence.
Under a post on X on June 14, where LFI announced François Ruffin as a candidate for the New Popular Front in the constituency of the Somme, Ruffin reacted with scorn.
“Thank you, but: I have not asked you for any investiture, no authorisation. I have not fallen under the whims of your stupidity, your sectarianism,” he commented .
“You prefer a man who hits his wife, a perpetrator of domestic violence, to comrades who have the impudence to disagree with the great leader,” he added. “Our democracy deserves better than you.”
✅ Les 30 juin et 7 juillet, mobilisation générale ! Nous pouvons changer la vie et écrire l'histoire ! pic.twitter.com/NXHYMLgmIM
— La France insoumise 🟣 #NouveauFrontPopulaire (@FranceInsoumise) June 14, 2024
On June 15, Ruffin went on to write that while the European Parliament elections were hard for the Left, the positivity raised by creating the popular front had now been crushed by Mélenchon.
“After the tragedy, after the hope, came the farce. The leadership of rebellious France [LFI], far from rising to the occasion, is stooping to the worst schemes,” Ruffin wrote.
“It’s a joke. A bad prank. It must be taken as such. Draw political and human consequences. Do not lie to yourself or tell stories: you cannot, for the country, claim harmony on Earth and democracy, and for the party, rule through fear and brutality.”
The LFI’s Clémentine Autain also weighed in, stating: “The extreme-right is at the gates of power on the Left, and La France Insoumise goes and decides to fracture our movement and weaken the alliance.”
Other parties in the union are unhappy with the internal strife at LFI. Marine Tonderlier, national secretary of The Greens, said she was “very shocked” by events.
Olivier Faure, of the Socialist Party, said that the New Popular Front “does not deserve to be sullied by irresponsible decisions”. He called the dropping of certain candidates “scandalous”.
Still, the infighting will likely not stop the left-wing parties from working together.
“Faced with the danger of the far-right, no progressive should be picky. No one is too much in this fight,” Faure toldLe Monde.
“The entire Left will always be at the rendezvous of the fight against the far-right.”
In a surprise move, François Hollande (PS), former President of France, declared he wanted to be a candidate for the New Popular Front.
On June 15, thousands of Left and hard-left protesters protested against the far-right across France.
David Guiraud, an MP with La France Insoumise (LFI), referred to “Celestial Dragons”, rich and privileged characters in the Manga series One Piece, to apparently refer to Jews in what many saw as an offensive way. https://t.co/VyhMlyEsSj
The damage to the entrance hall of the Vlaams Belang head office chrisjanssensVB/X
A march against the so-called far right in Brussels culminated in an attack on the headquarters of the Flemish nationalist party Vlaams Belang on Sunday, while a nearby crowd rallied against populist electoral advances in last week’s European, local, and national elections across Belgium.
Hundreds of masked activists split off from a larger self-styled ‘anti-fascist’ demonstration through the Belgian capital shortly after 1 p.m. The party’s premises were left heavily defaced when the authorities failed to protect the entrance of the multi-story building.
Inkomhal van het Vlaams Belang-hoofdkantoor aan het Madouplein in Brussel alweer geteisterd door vandalen: besmeurd met zwarte smurrie en glazen deur ingegooid. De voortdurend bepleite ‘verdraagzaamheid’ van onze tegenstanders is even grenzeloos als hypocriet. pic.twitter.com/FsK0Ag9inR
Despite the brazen and likely premeditated nature of the attack, Belgian media reports no arrests as having been made by local police. Smoke bombs, paint, and eggs were hurled at the party headquarters, leaving the front of the building badly damaged.
The rally was organised by the Francophone collective “Coordination Antifasciste de Belgique.” Authorities estimated the actual number of event participants as 4,500, less than half the 10,000 claimed by the demonstrators.
Leftists are reacting against the electoral rise of Vlaams Belang, which saw their vote share increase in Belgium’s national and EU elections. The party almost entered a coalition government with the centre-right N-VA in the Flemish Parliament.
“The constantly advocated ‘tolerance’ of our opponents is as limitless as it is hypocritical,” complied party vice chair Chris Janssens. Vlaams Belang activists have undergone multiple instances of legal harassment over the past year on hate speech charges.
This is not the first time Vlaams Belang has faced persecution.; in 2019, its same building was attacked by left-wing radicals. The party only formed in 2004 after its political precursor, Vlaams Blok, was banned by the state on dubious grounds.
According to Antifa-style activist Julien Dohet, leftists are looking to redouble their opposition to populists in Belgium.
The attack on Vlaams Belang’s headquarters comes two months after joint state and leftist pressure failed to deplatform the annual National Conservatism conference in Brussels in April, prompting international headlines. Ironically, the third, successful site hosting NatCon 2024 is close to the building that was vandalised. Similar rallies were staged throughout France, in response to similar electoral gains by Le Pen’s nationalist Rassemblement National Party.
The university said a “final decolonisation framework” would be a “useful and important guide for staff”Google
The University of Liverpool has been panned as “divisive” after it emerged the institution told its lecturers to “problematise” whiteness and heterosexuality in their teaching as part of a drive to “diversify” and “decolonise” the curriculum.
This week, the university had circulated a report to history department staff encouraging them to “think creatively” about bringing gender and race into their subjects.
In the memo – titled the History Curriculum Diversity Audit – lecturers were told to consider questions like: “Can a module that teaches exclusively about race relations do more to problematise and de-centre whiteness?”
The “audit” also noted a dearth of “queer history” in the department’s teaching on gender, and queried staff on why their seminars were not “problematising heteronormativity” – a term meaning treating being straight as the norm.
In another piece of advice from the report, staff were told it was “essential” to make sure their seminars were “safe spaces” – as topics like gender and race could be seen as “emotional” or “challenging” for Liverpool history students.
One anonymous lecturer at Liverpool University told the Telegraph: “It’s all ideologically driven… namely ‘Empire is bad’. But it’s the wrong way to approach history.
“Historians should have the freedom to teach what they believe is true rather than having an agreed ideology that you’re not supposed to question…
“Also, I’m not quite sure how we are supposed to problematise whiteness.”
While Dr Alka Sehgal Cuthbert, director of Don’t Divide Us, a pressure group which calls itself “the UK’s common-sense voice on race”, slated the “audit”.
She said: “Non-activists who want an easy life need to realise decolonising has nothing to do with addressing discrimination or unequal access, nor is it about expanding knowledge.
“Any positive insights it may have once had regarding disciplinary blind spots or neglected past works, have long gone.
“It has morphed into an aggressive and illiberal political ideology that promotes divisive, epistemologically weak concepts like ‘whiteness’ and seeks to impose its narrow, highly speculative interpretation at the expense of genuine academic study that depends on exploring different viewpoints.”
A University of Liverpool spokesman said: “We are absolutely committed to an inclusive experience for all our students.
“Reviewing our curricula to ensure content is reflective of cultural, historical and societal contexts is an important part of this commitment.
“Following recent fruitful and positive conversations within our history department about decolonising the curriculum, a 2020 audit was circulated to colleagues to prompt further thought and discussion.
“A final decolonisation framework, once developed and agreed, will be a useful and important guide for staff in the development of their modules and, as always, colleagues will retain full academic freedom in how this is best applied.”
A massive, years-long study shows the overwhelming majority of young people who identify as transgender will grow out of the diagnosis within five years. Researchers, who tracked all children and young adults diagnosed with gender dysphoria over a nine-year period, found a similar supermajority of trans people suffered from at least one other psychological condition.
The Central Institute for Statutory Health Insurance in Germany reviewed all the medical billing records from the nation’s health care providers for insured people between the ages of five and 24 diagnosed with gender identity disorders from 2013 to 2022.
Researchers then combed through the data to identify trends in the number of children and adolescents diagnosed with transgenderism, including the prevalence, demographics, and duration of those struggling with their gender identity.
Two out of three young people medically diagnosed with gender dysphoria will no longer identify as a member of the opposite sex within five years. Researchers found overall that 63.6 percent of trans children and adolescents desisted from their clinically-confirmed gender diagnosis, and “only 36.4 percent had a confirmed [gender identity disorder] diagnosis after five years.”
Experts found the majority of all people who identified as transgender desisted during that time frame. The most likely group to change its mind is 15- to -19-year-old females, with 72.7 percent desisting. But a majority (50.3 percent) of young men who came to their transgender identity in adulthood (males age 20-24) also desisted in five years.
Similarly, nearly three quarters of young people who identify as transgender (72.4 percent) had at least one other psychiatric condition.
Trans young people were most likely to suffer from depressive disorders — an outright majority of females (57.5 percent) and about half of males (49.3 percent, female), as well as “anxiety disorders (23.5 percent/34.0 percent), emotionally unstable personality disorders of the borderline type (12.1 percent/17.6 percent), attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (12.7 percent/12.6 percent), and post-traumatic stress disorder (9.9 percent/13.6 percent).”
“With regard to psychiatric comorbidities, our results are consistent with the literature, at least for depressive disorders,” they note.
On Sunday, 16th June, a controversy erupted in some building societies in the Mira Road region of Maharashtra’s Mumbai district. Ruckus is said to have erupted after some of the Muslim families residing in JP North Celeste society and Hill Galaxy got goats for slaughter within the society premises. The Hindus were also threatened and women were abused as they strongly protested against animal slaughter inside society premises.
As per the initial reports, the Hindu residents living in the society have submitted a written official complaint to the Kashigaon Police, but no FIR has yet been registered.
OpIndia obtained exclusive information in the given case, which is said to have happened on the evening of 16th June, ahead of the Bakrid festival. One of the Muslim families residing in the JP North Celeste society got goats for slaughter on the occasion of Bakrid. Seeing this, the other Hindu families who reside in the locality objected to the occurrence and requested the concerned family to remove the goats from the society. The Hindu families stated that getting goats into the society was not allowed as per the society’s rules. The Muslim family initially heard the plea but eventually refused to remove the goats from society.
The Hindu residents then called the local Hindu groups to seek support in the incident and also informed the Police. The Hindu members launched the protest and asked the concerned family if they had any permission from the society before getting goats for slaughter inside the premises. To this, the family claimed that they had got the goat into the society but they had no intention to execute the slaughter within the premises.
Police trying to pacify matter at JP North Celeste society (Image obtained by OpIndia)
The Muslim family then was also asked if they had done any medical examination of the goat before getting it into the society. After they said no, the local Hindu groups demanded removal of goats from the society concerning the civic health of the residents. The Hindus also filed an official complaint at the Kashigao Police Station, but the same is yet to be registered as an FIR.
The Hindus in the complaint stated, “The Muslims have illegally got a goat to slaughter in the building premise. For the last 4 days, they have been asked to remove the goats even by the Police authorities, but they have blatantly refused to remove them from society. Several Hindu families reside on the premises and slaughtering an animal in the society premises is not acceptable.”
The complaint further stated that the Muslims who got goats within the society premises submitted an undertaking letter to the police. The undertaking letter stated that there was a mutual agreement signed between the Hindus and the Muslims that allowed the entry of goats into the society’s premises. However, the Hindus stated that no such agreement has been signed and that no slaughter will be allowed in the society premises. “This is all a hidden conspiracy. No such agreement has been signed. Society rules do not permit goat slaughter here. We object to this,” the complaint said.
A similar incident happened in the society next to JP North Celeste society. A Sikh family on 16th June had organized a small event outside the ‘Hill Galaxy apartment’ while it marked the death anniversary of the fifth Sikh Guru, Guru Arjan Dev who was martyred on May 30, 1606. The Sikh women were distributing ‘sarbat prasadam’ to the locals when they saw some of the Muslims getting 14 goats for alleged slaughter in the society premises. On asking, the Muslims are believed to have lied that they were taking the goats out of society.
However, the Sikh lady objected saying that the Muslim families residing in the society had already got their personal goats for slaughter and now they were getting 4 more extra goats illegally. Eventually, the Muslims hurled abuses at the woman and insulted the Hindu religion. “We will get the goats. Do whatever you can. Hinduo ke m** ki ch**,” the Muslims said, as informed to OpIndia by a local Hindu activist.
“They have been slaughtering animals within the society premises for the last 4 years and we keep on protesting every year. This year also they got the goats and we protested. However, then they abused women and demeaned, and insulted the Hindu religion,” the Sikh woman said while talking to OpIndia, also quoted by local media.
She also said that they sought the police help but were asked to first register an official complaint at the police station for the authorities to take any legal action against the Muslims. “The police were already deployed in the area due to the issue at JP North Celeste society. Some of the police authorities even heard Muslims hurling abuses at women. Later, after a major argument here and insult caused to Hindus, the police were personally called. However, they said that an official complaint was necessary for any action to be taken against the Muslims,” she added.
Later, after a lot of contention, the police detained the accused persons for hurling abuses at the women and assured them that strict action against them would be taken.
Lord Ganesha abused by accused Muslims, Hindus threatened saying goats will be slaughtered within the society
On 17th June, one of the residents of the Hill Galaxy apartments submitted an official complaint to the Kashigaon police station saying that one accused identified as Vajud and his associates insulted Hindus as they protested against the illegal slaughter of the goats in the society. The complaint copy which has been obtained by OpIndia says that the Muslims threatened the Hindus saying they (Muslims) would slaughter the goats within the society premises, come what may. “Do whatever you can. We will slaughter animals here only, within the society premises. Hinduo ke m** ki ch**,” Vajud said as per the complaint which is yet to be registered into an FIR. The raw complaint copy submitted by the Hindu resident has been obtained by OpIndia.
In the complaint, the resident further said that the alleged accused individual also insulted Lord Ganesh. “You people celebrate the Ganesh festival. Do we say anything then? We feel enraged and feel like puking when we see your Lord Ganesha. We will see how you celebrate your Ganesh festival here,” Vajud is said to have threatened the Hindus.
The complaint further stated that he called the builder, (R R Builders owned and looked after by Rasool Shaikh, Irfan Shaikh, Junaid Shaikh, and Jabbar Shaikh) after one of the Muslim residents abused Hindus but to no avail. “The builder said that he was out of the city and that he could not come to resolve the matter. He has also allowed construction of illegal Masjid in the building premise,” the complaint read. As per the local Hindu activist, the complaint will be submitted to the Kashigaon Police today after which an FIR will be registered.
Hindus protesting in the matter (Images obtained by OpIndia)
Construction of illegal Masjid in the building
As per the exclusive information obtained by OpIndia, the builder, Rasool Sheikh initially gave houses to Hindus but later all the remaining houses were booked by the Muslims. At present, in both the societies, JP North Celesta and Hill Galaxy, around 15-20 houses out of 130-150 each belong to Hindus while other more than 100 are occupied by Muslims.
In the Hill Galaxy apartment, the builder Rasool initially had told the residents that the community space would be utilized for the gym or some club, but later a Masjid was constructed there. “The Masjid was constructed 4 years ago here. And we were not asked, nor informed about the Masjid. While booking the flat we were told that the space would be utilized for the gym but now the builder has allowed the construction of a Masjid here. People from other societies also come here to offer Namaz and it becomes uncomfortable for us,” the Sikh woman who was abused by Muslims said.
The first floor area of the building where Rasool has built an illegal Masjid (Images obtained by OpIndia)
Also, the complaint filed to the Police mentioned that there’s always a ruckus happening in the society due to other Muslims coming to the society to offer Namaz in the illegal Masjid built here. “The builder doesn’t listen to us as majority of the families living here are Muslims. There is no society rule, no mutual respect here. Hindus are just harassed every coming day. We want police to look into the matter,” the complaint read.
Hindu activists abused, beaten, and assaulted
While talking to the local media, one of the local Hindu activists stated that the Muslims assaulted the protesting Hindu activists by kicking them as they protested against the slaughter of goats in the society. “This is illegal. Slaughter of animals within the society is illegal. We understand it is your religion and you have complete freedom to follow it. But the society does not allow the slaughter of goats within the premises. There are other religious people who live here and feel uncomfortable and hurt seeing animals slaughtered. They should go to slaughterhouses authorized by BMC and cut the goats, not here in the society,” the Hindu activist said.
The other one meanwhile, talking to OpIndia claimed that these two societies do not have any set rules regarding anything. “They don’t have anything to prove that slaughtering of goats in the society is illegal or is not allowed. Further, it is Muslim majority society so it becomes easy for them to harass Hindus. In the case of JP North, the Muslims have given an undertaking to the police saying that they can get and slaughter the goats in society as a ‘mutual agreement’ has been signed between Hindus and Muslims. But no such agreement has been signed as stated firmly by the Hindu residents,” he said.
The Hindu activist further added that the Police also stated that no action at present can be taken against the individual in the JP North case as there is no livestock policy in the society. “The police have been deployed in the area but they have been asking Hindus to maintain calm. The authorities initially threatened the Hindus saying now they (Muslims) have got 2 goats, and tomorrow they’ll get 10. Do you want that? If not, please maintain calm,” he said.
The police are also said to have told the Hindus that Muslims can keep goats in their houses given there is no livestock policy in the society. However, as per the local reports, the police have assured that no slaughter would take place in the society. Further police action is awaited and underway.
OpIndia called Senior PI Rahul Patil to know the current updates in the case. Unfortunately, no satisfactory answers were provided. Amid this the Islamists are spreading misinformation on social media platforms claiming that the Hindus created a ruckus in the JP North Celesta society on 16th June.
Members of the Bajrang Dal created a ruckus outside the JP North Celeste society on Mira Road in Maharashtra when some Muslim families brought lambs for Eid sacrifice. pic.twitter.com/wSHRd3jLgt
BJP MLA Geeta Jain confirmed the incident, says no slaugter would take place
Meanwhile, BJP MLA from Mira Bhayander region exclusively talked to OpIndia and confirmed the incident saying that goats were brought for illegal slaughter within the society premises. However, she said that the timely intervention of the police an local politicians stopped the execution of slaughter.
She also condemned the incident as she talked about Hindu women being abused at the hands of Muslims. “This is not at all tolerable. People live together in a society and they should respect each other. Those who hurled abuses at the women, those who insulted the Hindu religion have been taken into custody by the police. We demand strict action against the accused persons,” she said.
Further Jain added that these kinds of incidents are repeatedly happening in the Mira Road region where Hindus are harassed or abused for belonging to one particular religion. “We are taking steps to curb such incidents. The frequency of such incidents is increasing and it’s alarming,” she added. In the given case, when asked about the police action, she said that the action is awaited however, the police are trying to pacify the matter calling it an internal issue.
“The Police are cooperating however not to the extent as expected by the Hindu residents or local Hindu activists. Police need to take strict action against the accused persons. They are trying to pacify the matter to avoid any communal occurrence. However, they have assured that no slaughter would take place within the society premises,” she concluded.
MLA Geeta Jain (File photo ANI)
Why do Muslims slaughter animals on Bakrid?
Muslims every year slaughter livestock during the festival of Eid and believe that the tradition was first initiated by the Prophet Muhammed himself. They kill the animal by Halal method and then distribute the meat amongst their family members and others.
As per the reports, in reverence of Prophet Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his son, Ismaeel, as an act of obedience to God’s order, God intervened and provided an animal as a substitute sacrifice, leading to the celebration of Bakrid or Eid-ul-Adha. Muslims commemorate this day every year, honoring Allah via the sacrifice of an animal. It is a three-day event and comprises goat and sheep sacrifices as well as namaz.
Similar incident was reported last year
Mira Road and the Bhayander area in Maharashtra’s Mumbai district have been in the news for all the wrong reasons in the recent past. In June 2023, massive controversy erupted in the capital city of Maharashtra after one of the Muslim families living in a society on Mira Road, Mumbai brought two goats a day ahead of Bakrid (Bakra-eid, Eid-Ul-Adha). The society members happened to refuse the Muslim family to get the goats inside the society premises for slaughter and said that they wouldn’t allow any kind of slaughtering activity within the society premises.
The residents of the society on Mira Road protested and opposed the slaughtering of the goats within the society premises on Bakrid and also chanted Hanuman Chalisa. Some of the people also raised the slogans of ‘Jai Shree Ram’, the videos of which had gone viral in the media.
But the couple took the goats to the apartment after which the police were informed. The police who reached the spot immediately tried to maintain peace and communal harmony and assured the other residents in the society that no slaughtering would take place within the society premises.
The Police also allowed the goats saying that there was no such rule or law against a man getting goats or animals into his house. However, the authorities said that the concerned family would faced arrest if they slaughtered animals in his apartment or within the society premises. The detailed report on this case can be read here and here.
In the second crucial incident that was reported recently in January 2024, the Islamists attacked Hindus with stones, iron rods, sticks, and bamboo, leaving over a dozen people who participated in rallies to commemorate the return of Lord Ram in Ayodhya injured.
In the incident reported from Mira Road, Mumbai, Islamists also disrespected the Hindu religion and hurt the Hindu religious sentiments by tearing flags bearing images of Lord Hanuman. Islamists are also said to have vomited over the flags causing disrespect to the Hindu faith. OpIndia contacted the Police to know the details of the incident. The police confirmed that around 13 persons had been arrested in the case, however, IO Dilip Rakh revealed no information about the accused persons given the sensitivity of the case.
The videos of the incident had gone viral over the internet in which the Islamists could be heard raising the slogans of ‘Allah-hu-Akhbar’ while attacking the cars. They could be seen using iron rods and sticks to attack the Hindus. Even the videos of women being attacked made rounds on social media.
Islamists raised slogans of 'Allah-hu-Akhbar' after cars on #miraroad attacked. They puked on Hindu flags. I have zero courage to share disheartening videos showing Hindu flags dipped in puke. It hurts to see #Hindus disrespected @NiteshNRane's rally is scheduled today. pic.twitter.com/am8vmVkksl
Later the Police and the local administration took cognizance of the event and bulldozed the illegal properties of the Islamists staying on the Mira road who were involved in the stone pelting. As per reports, the illegal construction of the accused persons involved in the Mira Road clash was razed to the ground in the presence of Maharashtra Security Force and Mumbai Police.
This year in February, OpIndia reported 15 cases in which Hindu girls were deliberately trapped by Muslims in the Mira Road region and then raped, and converted to Islam. Hindu activists while talking about the incident had said that the cases of Love Jihad had been on the rise in the region but were allegedly were being ignored by the administration. Detailed reports in this case can be read here.
In the given case, complaint has been filed by the Hindu residents but the FIR is yet to be registered. The Hindu residents await strict police action.
The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals has rejected a lawsuit filed by six members of a Wyoming sorority challenging the admission of a 6’2″, 260-pound trans-identified male, who the women have alleged has “watched” them undress with a visible erection. The University of Wyoming’s chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma (KKG), the complainants argued, caused the women “emotional distress in a personalized and unique way” and circumvented voting bylaws in their 2022 decision to admit Dallin ‘Artemis’ Langford as a member of the sorority.
The six women were appealing an August 2023 ruling from Judge Alan Johnson that declined their initial litigation on the basis that re-defining “woman” to include males was “Kappa Kappa Gamma’s bedrock right as a private, voluntary organization — and one this Court may not invade.” Judge Johnson dismissed the case without prejudice, but suggested the lawsuit could be refiled.
Two months prior, the sorority had filed a motion to dismiss the suit, calling it a “frivolous” attempt to eject Langford for “their own political purposes.” According to the motion, the women suing had been flinging “dehumanizing mud” in order to “bully Ms. Langford on the national stage.”
A 6'2 trans-identified male will remain at a sorority in Wyoming after a court dismissed a suit brought by 6 of its female members.
The women said Artemis Langford had been "watching" them undress in the sorority house, sometimes while erect.https://t.co/k4yJsIbQCD
Despite the indication from Judge Johnson in his dismissal that the complaint could be refiled, the sorority members’ latest appeal was dismissed on June 12 by a panel of judges on the grounds that the court lacked jurisdiction “due to the absence of a final order by the district court.”
Attorney May Mailman, representing the six sorority members, said in a statement that she disagreed that the court lacked the jurisdiction to hear the case, adding: “Women deserve the camaraderie and safety of sororities, but unfortunately, it also appears they first need courts brave enough to say so.”
Mailman has made the argument that the national sorority council and president Mary Pat Rooney violated KKG’s bylaws, state that “a new member shall be a woman,” when they accepted Langford.
Other bylaws previously alleged to have been disregarded to secure Langford’s admission included dropping the requirement for a two-thirds majority approval vote via a convention of board members. This came in 2021 after KKG published a Guide For Supporting Our LGBTQIA+ Members which inserted a position statement that “Kappa Kappa Gamma is a single-gender organization comprised of women and individuals who identify as women.” As a Convention to approve this position statement was never held, the appeal stated, Langford’s acceptance into KKG was a violation of accepted policies.
Additionally, the initial complaint filed in March 2023 pointed out that Langford was accepted in KKG with a Grade Point Average (GPA) far below the admission requirement. The sorority’s policy was to only admit students whose GPA was 2.7 or higher, while Langford’s GPA was just 1.9. This indicated that Langford was “evaluated using a different standard” than female members were.
Legal representative for KKG, Natalie McLaughlin, last month argued that “the term ‘women’ is undefined in Kappa’s bylaws,” thereby insinuating that the lack of a definition of ‘woman’ as a female would have been needed for the sorority members to have a case. When defended its decision, KKG has insisted the word ‘woman’ is “unquestionably open to many interpretations.” Leadership for the sorority says the word ‘woman’ has evolved since the founding of the female-only organization 150 years ago.
A University of Wyoming sorority is arguing that the word "woman" is "undefined" in response to a lawsuit from female members over the admission of a trans-identified male.
The members say Artemis Langford ogled them while erect after being given access to the KKG house. pic.twitter.com/79ce8itb73
The 2023 filing emphasizes that women who felt uncomfortable with Langford’s presence within the female-only sorority house were told: “since [Langford] identifies as a woman, you have no reason to feel uncomfortable,” and that such sentiments “do not subscribe to Kappa’s values of inclusion and diversity.”
Another issue presented within the legal challenge to Langford’s membership involved alleged harassment of the young women on the part of KKG. The lawsuit had alleged that sorority leaders had used “coercive” tactics during the process of voting on his application.
Although Langford required a majority vote to gain admission to KKG, one sorority member came forward to state that the female members were initially promised anonymity in the voting process, only to then be told they would have to identify themselves on the ballot form.
Last year, one sorority member came forward to state that the women were initially promised anonymity in regards to the voting process, only to then be required to identify themselves on the online ballot form. This resulted in women feeling “intimidated” with voicing their concerns about a male entering the sorority.
In a meeting held to discuss Langford’s potential candidacy, KGG chapter leaders, including the president and membership chair, allegedly dismissed the concerns of women who expressed discomfort.
“Regardless of what your political views are, our Kappa values are acceptance and kindness so if that is something that you disagree with, that’s not in line with Kappa values,” one member allegedly said at the time, according to the unnamed KKG member.
Another member allegedly said “If you vote no, it better be for issues with that new member or else it’s homophobic.”
Following the launch of their lawsuit, the women involved were similarly denied anonymity by the court, even as Langford’s identity was anonymized under the pseudonym “Terry Smith.”
As previously reported by Reduxx, the female KKG members involved in the lawsuit noted that there had been several disturbing instances of inappropriate behavior from Langford following his admission.
Court records revealed that the young women alleged Langford, who is 6’2″, had been voyeuristically peeping on them while they were in intimate situations, and, on at least one occasion, had a visible erection while doing so.
“One sorority member walked down the hall to take a shower, wearing only a towel … She felt an unsettling presence, turned, and saw [Langford] watching her silently,” one court document, which had anonymized Langford, reads.
“[Langford] has, while watching members enter the sorority house, had an erection visible through his leggings,” the suit says. “Other times, he has had a pillow in his lap.”
The initial complaint adds that Langford is “sexually interested in women” as evidenced by his Tinder profile “through which he seeks to meet women.” It is further alleged that Langford took photographs of the women while at a sorority slumber party, where he also is said to have made inappropriate comments.
“Smith repeatedly questioned the women about what vaginas look like, breast cup size, whether women were considering breast reductions and birth control,” the complaint alleges.
Two members of a sorority at the University of Wyoming have been expelled in apparent retaliation for opposing the admission of a trans-identified male.
Artemis Langford had been accused of "watching" Kappa Kappa Gamma sisters undress, once while erect.https://t.co/SvGwLvCpzw
Last November, two veteran members of KKG were expelled after expressing disapproval towards the admission of Langford. Patsy Levang and Cheryl Tuck-Smith had been alumni members of the sorority for over 50 years, but were removed in apparent retaliation for advocating that membership be restricted to females only.
The women’s removal came after they vocally opposed to the admission of the trans-identified male to the KKG chapter at the University of Wyoming. Levang and Tuck-Smith had also supported the lawsuit launched by members of the sorority to have Langford removed.
Despite their long history of supporting KKG, Levang and Tuck-Smith were voted out by the sorority’s national leadership on November 9. Levang had been the past Kappa Kappa Gamma National Foundation President, while Tuck-Smith was an active contributor and organizer.
Langford, who began identifying as a “lesbian” in 2017, has received sympathetic coverage in US mainstream media, with one MSNBC host labeling him “brave and unique.” In a profile by the Washington Post published last year, Langford was given a platform to accuse the sorority sisters involved in the suit of lying while he was compared to women who had historically been denied the right to a basic education.
A 21-year-old University of Wyoming student was looking for community. Instead, she faced death threats, a federal lawsuit and an attempt to kick her out. https://t.co/0lieMT4Xvr
Reduxx was the first to reveal that Langford’s given name is Dallin, and that he declared a transgender identity while participating in mock micro-nations in high school.
According to a micro-nations wiki entry: “On the 11th of June 2017, Dallin Langford announced to the micro-national community that she was transgender and was given a name change to Artemis Langford as reflection of this revelation. The Kingdom changed into a Queendom and from King to Queen.”
Armed police have descended on streets outside a Euro 2024 fan zone in Germany after an axe-wielding man began threatening football supporters ahead of a Netherlands vs Poland game.
Officers swarmed to the scene, and have reportedly shot the would-be attacker – leaving him “severely injured”.
The attacker, wielding a pickaxe and a “Molotov cocktail”-style incendiary device, also threatened officers as they policed fans on the Reeperbahn, a major road in Hamburg’s St Pauli district.
Rory Smith, a New York Times football journalist who was at the scene, said: “Police have closed the Reeperbahn in Hamburg, not far from the fan zone, where there are thousands of Dutch fans.
“[There were] four loud bangs and then hundreds of riot police moved in.”
BREAKING NIUS: Schüsse auf der Reeperbahn ++ Polizei schießt Axt-Angreifer bei Fan-Marsch der Holländer nieder ++ Blutige EM-Gewalt im ganzen Land https://t.co/DCTCIAlqqApic.twitter.com/iocBzEEIJ3
Smith later added: “I heard four bangs and was about 20 yards away, so would suggest that the man was shot three times.”
Officers had begun to use pepper spray against the axeman before opting to use their weapons, German outlet Bild reported.
And police said that one officer initially fired a warning shot to stop the attacker – before several more rounds were let off until the man finally fell to the ground.
Additional footage from the scene shows the attacker apparently attempting to light the “Molotov cocktail” before police shot him.
One witness at the scene, a Dutch football fan, praised the police response, saying officers “acted sharply and quickly”.
The man has since been taken from the scene in an ambulance.
Dutch football supporters had descended on Hamburg in droves ahead of their nation’s Group D opener against Poland.
The game is set to kick off at 2pm UK time – and thousands of fans will be marching on the city’s Volksparkstadion as sporting proceedings get underway.
Fan marches like today’s are typically scheduled ahead of the games, and a parade for Dutch supporters was being held at 12.30 pm (11.30am UK time), around the time of the incident.
Germany is hosting the month-long tournament – which began on Friday night as the hosts smashed Scotland 5-1.
Those who consider themselves “native French” represent a “serious problem” for social cohesion, far-left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon declared as he laid out the vision for the “New Popular Front” alliance in the snap legislative election called by President Emmanuel Macron.
Former French presidential candidate, leader of the far-left La France Insoumise (LFI) party and effective head of the New Popular Front leftist election alliance, Jean-Luc Mélenchon hailed the demographic changes in his country while attacking the native population of France in a speech to supporters on Friday.
“When I was born, one in ten French people had a foreign grandparent, now it’s one in four. Consequently, those who call themselves native French pose a serious problem to the cohesion of society,” he said in comments reported by Le Journal du Dimanche.
“In the Paris region, there are thirteen million of us, including at least eight million immigrants: Corsicans, Bretons, Malians, Algerians, Moroccans… Everyone was torn from the environment from which their parents or grandparents came and put against the wall to build a society.”
The leftist leader went on to call for the “re-foundation of France”, explaining: “Ransacked by liberal policies, trashed by racism, trashed by divisions, it is this new France that we must have in mind when we undertake the policy of the New Popular Front.”
The comments drew swift pushback from nationalist figures, including former presidential candidate and leader of the populist Reconquête (Reconquest) party, Éric Zemmour.
“Let Mélenchon understand: the French were here a thousand years ago, they will remain here for another thousand years and we will do everything to prevent their replacement by his new people,” Zemmour said.
More Than Six in Ten Muslims Backed French Far-Left Party in EU Electionshttps://t.co/aWLNCE12Ml
Mélenchon, a 72-year-old Morocco-born Spanish-heritage far-left politician who is often compared to Britain’s Jeremy Corbyn or America’s Bernie Sanders, is a controversial figure in France, with many accusing him of downplaying antisemitism and courting radical Islamist elements in the country, notably in the wake of the October 7th Hamas terror attacks on Israel which saw over 1,200 innocent people slaughtered and hundreds taken captive by jihadists.
Nevertheless, Mélenchon was able to convince relatively moderate left-wing figures in the Socialists, the green Les Écologists party, and the French Communist Party, to join his La France Insoumise in an election pact to prevent the anti-mass migration National Rally party of Marine Le Pen from taking power in the National Assembly in the upcoming snap elections.
The leftist bloc, which is collectively polling second in the two-round legislative elections to be held on June 30th and July 7th, was further bolstered on Saturday by former President François Hollande announcing he would return to politics and run for the National Assembly as a Socialist under the New Popular Front banner to confront the rise of the National Rally.
While the left has descended into full-blown panic over the rise of the supposed “far-right”, Le Pen argued on Sunday that the real threat posed to French democracy is the “Islamo-leftist bloc” headed up by Mélenchon.
“It is Islamo-leftism which almost openly advocates the disappearance of all of our freedoms,” she said in comments reported by L’Opinion. “The first of these being the freedom to be French… and to benefit from it: the freedom to own, protest, and expression. They want the physical and moral disarmament of the police, and are for the overthrow of our constitutional and republican structure.”
Khaled Al N. from Joure allegedly confessed to killing his 18-year-old daughter Ryan in emails sent to the Telegraaf. The Syrian man said he took his daughter’s life and fled to Istanbul. Sources previously told the newspaper that Ryan’s very religious family couldn’t accept her lifestyle choices.
According to the Telegraaf, its editors reached out to Khaled Al N. via an email address linked to the man’s courier company in Leeuwarden. The newspaper received a response on Tuesday afternoon. It was a confession written in Arabic, the newspaper wrote after asking an Arabic interpreter to look at the text. The email reads: “I ask you to publish that I am the one who killed” and “I was very angry with her.”
The email confirms that Al N. has fled to Turkey, according to the newspaper. The man said he was in Istanbul.
He did not elaborate on the motive for his daughter’s murder. “The reason for the murder is between me and the judge, I will read that in court. The courts of the Netherlands are fair and do not treat anyone unfairly.”
Earlier this week, the police arrested two men for involvement in Ryan’s death. The suspects are 22 and 24 years old from Joure and Leeuwarden. Several media outlets, including the Telegraaf, reported that they are Ryan’s brothers.
The Public Prosecution Service (OM) seized the emails after the Telegraaf asked it for a response, NOS reports.
A spokesperson for the Midden-Nederland police told the broadcaster that the police can make no comments about the emails or the identity of the arrested suspects. They are in restricted custody, which means that they are only allowed contact with their lawyers, and the authorities can’t provide information about them.
Ryan’s family lived in Idlib, Syria, until 2012. Khaled worked in a shoe factory in Lebanon, and his wife, Sumaia, took care of the children in Syria. They fled to Turkey when the war broke out and arrived as asylum seekers in the Netherlands two years later. They moved to Joure in 2017.
