Justice Speaks Louder than Threats: Personal Accounts from the April 14th Protest in Trenton, NJ
Written by two WoLF Members
In 2021, the ACLU won a lawsuit against the New Jersey Department of Corrections, causing it to adopt the policy of allowing men in women’s prisons. Ever since, women at the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility in New Jersey have been suffering under this misguided attempt at ‘inclusivity’ which forces these women to share spaces with men, including housing quarters and showers. There are no exceptions for male prisoners who have committed violent crimes or crimes against women, such as rape, sexual assault, or harassment. This policy is an appalling violation of female prisoners’ sex-based rights under the Geneva Convention, our international humanitarian law.
In 2022, 27 men out of over 800 total prisoners were housed at Edna Mahan, which is New Jersey’s only correctional facility designated for women. This year, there are ten male prisoners out of 356 total. These male inmates include violent offenders with a history of sexual assault and targeting women.
On April 14, 2023, J. Thomas organized Justice Speaks: A Free Speech for Women Event on the steps of the New Jersey State House, working with fellow activist Brittany RouXx. The protest occurred on the anniversary of a New York Post article about a man impregnating two incarcerated women at Edna Mahan. RouXx had collected letters from female prisoners to be read aloud, and the event focused on the importance of free speech for women and highlighting the human rights violations these women are still being subjected to.
Image credit: J. Thomas
The event was a major success. It was picked up by several publications, including The Blaze, OutKick, and the New York Post. At a time when women are routinely silenced or deplatformed for defending our sex-based rights, it is refreshing to see mainstream news sources acknowledge the brutal conditions that incarcerated women are experiencing under policies that allow male inmates to claim a “gender identity” in order to enter women’s spaces.
Although this was not an event organized by WoLF, WoLF members participated as individuals to support J. Thomas, Brittany RouXx, the women of Edna Mahan, and incarcerated women across the country. Of course, there was opposition as well: counter protesters were waiting, with boomboxes, bells, and bullhorns to silence these brave women.
In the face of intimidation and the threat of male violence, it can be hard for women to feel comfortable exercising their right to free speech. We hope that by sharing first-hand stories from the women who attended this protest, we can empower women to trust their own judgment and speak for themselves.
You can watch the full live stream of the event here and read letters from incarcerated women here. There is also a Twitter thread separating the video by topic.
FROM MAXI MACGOWAN
When I heard that Jennifer Thomas and the Justice Speaks: Free Speech for Women team were planning a protest in Trenton, NJ, I knew I had to attend. I follow Jennifer on Twitter and admire her courage and dedication to helping women in prison and out. I made plans to drive from New York to New Jersey with a fellow radical feminist and WoLF member.
So, what do you wear to a protest? I wasn’t sure, so I asked around. Experienced protesters recommended wearing practical clothing like sturdy, comfortable, closed-toed shoes and avoiding flowing clothes or ponytails that can easily be pulled.
Now that I knew what to wear, I set out to find a pair of noise-canceling headphones. I was obsessed with finding the perfect pair to wear to the protest. The first pair were too small. The second, too big. The third option, in-ear plugs, hurt my ears and triggered vertigo. But like a sonic Goldilocks, I persisted and finally found just the right ones. Why the fixation? Seasoned protesters had advised me to wear ear protection. I’d seen—and heard—enough videos of protests to know that the noise from counter protesters often reached dangerous levels. A mashup of trans activists, Antifa members, angry men’s rights activists, and assorted misogynists are determined to prevent people from hearing women speak. They blast music, blare sirens, blow whistles, use all kinds of noisemakers, and shout slurs and slogans into bullhorns in what can only be described as an aural assault.
Video still credit: A Slightly Twisted Female
The aggression from trans rights activists is bad, and has gotten worse in recent months. British activist Kellie-Jay Keen was surrounded by an angry mob at one of her Let Women Speak events. Trans activists threw eggs at her and a violent man doused her with tomato soup—and spent the next week gloating about it online. A 70-year-old woman was punched in the face by another man at the event. Last year, abusive men and their handmaidens harassed women at protests in Oregon, Washington, California—anywhere women gathered to speak about our rights.
They want to silence us and scare us into submission, but we won’t let that happen. We need to stand up to these misogynistic bullies. We won’t shut up. We won’t be silenced. As our sisters in Scotland say, “Women Won’t Wheesht.”
Image credit: A Slightly Twisted Female
So, yes, I was a bit worried about potential violence from the He-Man Women-Hater’s Club. But I refused to let fear keep me from attending this protest (and future ones). As it turned out, the Trenton event was an ideal protest for a first timer like me. The turnout for counter protesters was small. They were standing on the grass, leaning over a brick wall when we arrived. A group of police officers stood between them and our group.
Brittany RouXx read letters from the female inmates of Edna Mahan Correctional Facility. Their stories were heartbreaking and the fact that they were locked up with men was infuriating. I had not planned on speaking, but was inspired to after hearing the others. I pulled up a list on my phone of violent males housed in women’s prison and called them out. Honestly, it was cathartic and I’m glad I overcame any stage fright.
There are incarcerated women across the country being forced to share cells and showers with male sex offenders. They need our help and our voices. We need to speak out on their behalf. After this experience, I plan to attend more protests in the future.
FROM AN ANONYMOUS WOLF MEMBER
As I approached the New Jersey State House with a fellow WoLF member, we had no idea what to expect. Both of us wondered whether we were in the right place. Then, we saw the orange barricade, the group of women reading letters from female prisoners, the clowns wearing trans flags as capes, and one person blasting a radio while a tall man used a bullhorn to speak over the women. So, what we expected. We walked right past them and onto the steps.
While Brittany RouXx read a heartbreaking letter in which a woman described the times she was raped as a child, her words were barely audible from just a few feet away. One counter protester was ringing a bell, the man with a bullhorn taunted her, and some kid was blasting "Jizz In My Pants" by The Lonely Island. There is a time and a place for playing meme music, and it is not when a group of women gets together to speak on behalf of their sisters who are forced into spaces with violent men, raped and impregnated, in a situation we decided was inhumane long ago.
Video still credit: Known Heretic
I was straining my ears to listen, but the counter protesters were doing their best to drown us out. Although it was threatening, men trying to intimidate feminists into silence is not a new thing. We were not frightened, but spurred on. We held our signs higher.
The energy everyone brought was impressive, and there was something personal and special to appreciate about every woman there, as well as the women who bravely submitted letters.
At the end of the event, the police escorted us through the State House building instead of having us walk through the counter protesters. (There were a similar number of protesters, counter protesters, and police on the ground. It was a small group.) Despite this, the counter protesters found us on the way to the organizer's car, screamed at us, told us to get hit by a car crossing the street, and at the scariest point of the protest, surrounded the main organizer, cutting her off from the rest of the group. But again, despite their attempts to threaten, we all kept calm.
Sisters, WoLF Members, one of the counter protesters was dressed as a clown.
Image credit: Maxx
"Show, don't tell" is one of the most famous adages in writing, and if you're trying to make the point that the other side is behaving like clowns, dressing up as a clown yourself and honking your nose at them fails on the premise. Yes, he/she/they honked his/her/their nose at us as we crossed the street.
After the event, I learned that some of the counter protesters had followed the organizer from PHILLY to intimidate her there. They had been waiting hours before the event started for her to show up.
Regardless, I had a great time overall. It was incredible to meet and listen to the speakers, and stand strong for vulnerable prisoners who suffer grievous abuse under gender identity ideology. Yes, you have to deal with literal clowns and misogynists, but you also get to team up with inspiring, powerful women.
For those of us still processing the whiny tricks men use to try and silence us, I recommend Gavin de Becker's The Gift of Fear. It will help you distinguish between a threat and an intimidation, and be able to tell when you're actually in danger vs. when they're just using the threat of violence to make you shut up. It's unfortunate that we need this knowledge, but the truth is on our side. Every time we put ourselves out there, more and more people realize there is something deeply messed up about a group of kids blasting "WAP" over heartfelt pleas from rape survivors.
STAND AT THE FEMINIST FRONTLINE
Learn more about our efforts to restore single-sex prisons and #GetTheMenOut of women’s prisons!
Read More: WoLF Tracks
Contributors to WoLF Tracks have provided permission to share their content. While WoLF does not necessarily endorse all of the content in WoLF Tracks, we value our members' contributions and request revisions or edits to improve readability. Please read our User Generated Content policy for more information on community content. Learn more about WoLF membership here.
