Edmonton residents Valerie Keefe and Morgan Watson said they were handed trespassing tickets after running a Change My Mind Table outside of Tucker Carlson Network founder Tucker Carlson’s show at Rogers Place. Change My Mind Tables are displays created by Louder with Crowder host Steven Crowder, where he set ups desks on university campuses inviting people to change his mind on a controversial topic. “We set up a Change My Mind Table because both Morgan and I were significant opponents of the response to COVID, believing it to constitute a crime against humanity,” said Keefe in an interview. “But we thought that the people who were on the right side of that issue lost the plot effectively.” To discuss these ideological blindspots, Keefe said she thought it was wise to set up a Change My Mind Table. She said the first point they focused on was the freedom movement having a white supremacy problem, which could be observed with the coverage of unvaccinated organ transplant patients Shirley Walker and Garnet Harper. Numerous commentators spent more time on Walker’s death than Harper’s, which could be attributed to she being white and he being black. Keefe said white supremacy could be observed with vaccine passports, which were discriminatory towards non-white people. Non-white people had lower vaccination rates than whites, making them more likely to be barred from public accommodations. Three security officers approached the women at the Carlson event and asked them to leave because it was private property. While Rogers Place controls the Ice District, people are free to move around in it, so they refused to leave. Five Edmonton Police Service (EPS) officers showed up two hours later and ticketed them $600 each for trespassing. Another table about how CBC was fake news was set up nearby. With this other table, Keefe said it was not taken down until she advised the officers they could face potential human rights liabilities over political preferences. She alleged this complaint was sparked by a person who cannot stand anyone disagreeing with them. They will be pleading not guilty to the charges. A hearing will be held on March 6. While Keefe was outnumbered by the attendees, she said she was outnumbered among people who found it acceptable to bar unvaccinated people from public accommodations. She labelled herself “a lifelong holder of minority opinions.” The share of people who disagree with her does not influence her opinions. She prefers principles to pretext and popularity. Keefe concluded by saying she is not hostile to freedom of expression. “We’re with these people, but we’re trying to help them become better minded by poking them with a stick.” Watson said freedom of expression is what people use to defend other rights. “Once you have a monopoly on being heard, that’s when society is harmed,” she said. “There are always differences in society.” When people lose differences, she said they become unable to say what they think. She called freedom of expression “the cornerstore of a free society.” EPS media relations officer Dan Tames confirmed two people had set up a table with signs without permission in the lobby area of the plaza at Rogers Place. “They were asked multiple times by Rogers Place security and police to leave the premises but refused,” said Tames.“The individuals eventually moved with their table and signs to a different area but remained on Rogers Place private property without permission.”When they were asked to leave again, they said they would not, prompting the issuance of trespassing summons.Carlson said at his event at Rogers Place on January 24 there is zero evidence the Canadian government loves average people and overwhelming evidence it hates them. READ MORE: Carlson says Canadian government hates average people at Edmonton event“There’s only contempt,” said Carlson. “And the reason I’m saying this is not to upset anyone or hurt anyone’s feelings, but it’s the most important thing to understand the terms of the debate and the consequences of its outcome.”
