Protesters Block Street Outside Hotel Where Conservative Activist Was Speaking

Protesters gathered outside of and blocked an intersection nearby a hotel hosting an event at which conservative commentator Matt Walsh gave a speech on Wednesday night.

Walsh, a newly published children’s book author and conservative commentator for the Daily Wire, spoke about the pro-life movement and Supreme Court case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization at a Missouri hotel at an event hosted by the Saint Louis University College Republicans and the Young America’s Foundation.

A group called “B!llikens for Reproductive Justice” organized the opposition protest as an “alternative event” that would “feature trans and abortion rights educators” and “demonstrate that Matt Walsh and the bigotry he represents are not welcome on this campus,” according to an Instagram post.

“Queer lives, they matter here, Black lives, they matter here, trans lives, they matter here,” the protesters blocking the intersection shouted, Fox News reported.

Walsh approached the protesters outside the event “to give them a chance to answer my ‘what is a woman’ question,” but the group declined, he said on Twitter.

Walsh was originally scheduled to give his talk at St. Francis Xavier College Church, but the church cancelled the event Tuesday because, after reportedly reviewing “many of his public statements,” the church found Walsh’s statements “to be in opposition to the teachings of the Catholic Church,” according a statement on Facebook.

“When we initially allowed the event to be scheduled, we were not familiar with his views,” the church said. “Following more scrutiny of his statements, we cannot in good conscience give him a platform to speak.”