Hundreds flee conference after activists set loose thousands of live crickets

Suspected trans rights activists disrupted a trans-critical conference by flooding a packed auditorium with thousands of live crickets.

The protesters, who had been sitting among the crowd, threw sacks filled with insects to the floor at the annual LGB Alliance conference at Queen Elizabeth II Centre in Broad Sanctuary, Westminster on Friday.

Security guards entered the room and told audiences to evacuate the hall. Videos from the scene show chaos as delegates rushed to leave the infested room, with others ordering people to “squash the buggers”.

Four protesters were detained by security and police were called to the building.

A spokeswoman for the Met said: “Police were called at around 4.30pm on Friday to a report of a protest at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre in Broad Sanctuary.

“Four protesters were reported to have released a number of insects inside the venue. They were detained by security and escorted from the premises by appropriate adults.

“Police have their details and an investigation into the circumstances remains ongoing. There was no arrest.”

Andy Ngo, senior editor of The Post Millennial, who attended the conference with other members of the press, witnessed the suspects being detained.

He said: “They still had the insects crawling on them from their bags. 

“The four of them were laughing and I heard them say they did it because the conference is transphobic.”

Mr Ngo described the event, which hosted a pre-recorded video message from J.K. Rowling, as a space for “gays and allies who reject or are skeptical of trans ideology”.

LGB Alliance, which was set up in 2019, promotes the rights of lesbian, gay and bisexual people who disagree with Stonewall’s stance on transgender issues.

The act of protest has been claimed by youth-led trans activist group, Trans Kids Deserve Better. 

In a statement posted to accompany the group’s crowdfunder, they said: “Six of us released about 6,000 crickets into LGB Alliance’s annual conference. 

“The result of the conference, if it had gone ahead as planned, would have been an acceleration of transphobic hate and misinformation, which drives much of the attack on our healthcare and our dignity.”

The page has already received £4,599 – 459 per cent of its original target of £1000.

LGB Alliance said the conference continued despite the cancellation of some planned sessions while staff dealt with the incident.

A spokesman said: “Police were immediately informed and at least one of the saboteurs was apprehended. No further details on the perpetrators are available at this time.”

Pictured top: Image showing the crickets after they were unleashed during the conference (Picture: Andy Ngo)