PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA — Moms for Liberty – the nationwide advocacy group headquartered in Florida – were met by protestors as they arrived at the Museum of the American Revolution on Thursday.
More than a thousand conservative moms are expected to attend the annual four-day event, which doubled in attendance from last year.
“Their strategy is to instill bigoted beliefs about black and trans people from a very young age,” one protester told ABC 6.
PROTESTS EXPECTED
Several organizations said they would protest the national parental rights conference today in Philadelphia. Earlier this month, the Southern Poverty Law Center named Moms for Liberty an “anti-government extremist group.”
But group members say the opposite is true.
“We are not discriminating against any group, any minority,” Catalina Stubbe, the national director of Hispanic outreach for Moms for Liberty told ABC 6. “We do not co-parent with the government, that’s our message. We are going to do anything to defend transparency in education and parental rights.”
“We’re going to celebrate our American values. We’re going to empower, educate parents to defend their parental rights. We are defending the innocence and integrity of our children,” Stubbe said.
REPUBLICAN FRONT RUNNERS
This morning, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis will speak at the breakfast. Nikki Haley, former governor of South Carolina and ambassador to the United Nations, will address attendees later in the morning. Then former President Donald Trump will speak in the afternoon.
“All the presidential candidates are going to talk. We’re very concerned parents gathering here ready to defend parental rights,” said Stubbe.
Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney (D) released a statement saying that while he disagrees with Moms for Liberty's message, the City will prioritize the safety of participants and members of the public.
“[I]n spite of our disagreement with the views of Moms for Liberty, we also take freedom of speech very seriously. The City's response to any demonstration or public protest will prioritize the safety of participants and members of the public and protect the constitutional rights of all individuals without regard to the views expressed by any group.”
