The City of Moncton has revoked the permit for a scheduled performance in a local park by an American musician and far-right political agitator.
Sean Feucht, who is known for spreading hateful rhetoric against the pro-choice movement and 2SLGBTQ+ community, was scheduled to perform in Moncton’s Riverfront Park on Thursday at 6 p.m.
But on Wednesday afternoon, the city issued a statement saying that the “private event booking” was cancelled.
“Following a thorough review, the event was found to be non-compliant with the City’s Code of Conduct in City Facilities,” it said.
“In addition, due to evolving safety and security considerations, including confirmation of planned protests, the City has determined that the event poses potential risks to the safety and security of community members, event attendees, and organizers.”
The statement added that organizers had been informed about the cancellation.
“The City of Moncton remains committed to creating a respectful, positive, and safe environment for users of municipal facilities,” the statement continued. “This decision reflects the City’s responsibility to ensure that its public spaces are used in a manner consistent with community standards.”
The decision follows the publication of an open letter demanding the cancellation.
On Tuesday, the Regroupement féministe du Nouveau-Brunswick issued the open letter, which was endorsed by groups including River of Pride, Alter Acadie, GRIS-Acadie, QT Fatties in NB, and the Demand the Stars Collective, along with more than 100 individuals.
“Sean Feucht is a self-professed Christian Nationalist, and it’s appalling that his group made it
through the City of Moncton’s events vetting process,” said the letter, which was addressed to the City of Moncton, city councillors, local MP Ginette Petitpas-Taylor, and the provincial Minister responsible for Women’s Equality.
“In the context of rising hate against 2SLGBTQQIA+ people on a global and Canadian scale, and as reproductive rights are under attack in the United States as well as in Canada, it is very concerning to us that the City of Moncton is allowing a public performance by a person who displays such blatant bigotry as this,” it continued, pointing to anti-trans content on his social media.
Representatives of Feucht didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The self-described “missionary, musician, activist, author, and speaker” seems to be using the controversy to rile up his supporters, saying in one YouTube video that his previous cancellation in Halifax this week was the work of the media and “anti-Christian bigots.”
Kim Dubé, a criminology professor at l’Université de Moncton, said the City of Moncton made the right call by cancelling the performance, noting that hate crimes have risen over the past five years.
“I was surprised that this event was going to happen in a public place, especially since this person perpetuates a lot of hatred,” said Dubé, who is part of the Regroupement féministe du N.-B. and GRIS-Acadie. She suggested that the singer might operate by booking venues without using his name.
As for the inevitable outcry from people accusing the city of censorship, Dubé cited the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which protects freedom of expression, including religious beliefs, but not hate speech.
“We have to, I think, specify that nobody is against religious freedom,” Dubé said. “People are against hatred.”
Feucht, who has hundreds of thousands of followers on social media, has gained notoriety for promoting the idea of a Christian theocracy. He has denied on his blog that he wants “to see America turn into a Theocracy, even a Christian one,” but his public comments suggest otherwise.
“We want God to be in control of everything,” he told an audience in one video clip archived by Right Wing Watch. “We want believers to be the ones writing the laws, yes, guilty as charged!”
He is also closely aligned with the so-called MAGA movement of U.S. President Donald Trump, who once sent a personal video greeting to the far-right provocateur and his fans. Feucht is also known for his failed run for U.S. Congress with the Republicans in 2020 and his opposition to public health measures at the height of the COVID-19 crisis.
Earlier this week, Parks Canada revoked the permit for a performance by Feucht that was scheduled for a national historic site near Halifax due to “heightened public safety concerns,” as reported by the CBC. The event was reportedly moved to a rural location north of Halifax, at an address associated with a religious group called Lighthouse Ministries.
David Gordon Koch is a journalist with the NB Media Co-op. This reporting has been made possible in part by the Government of Canada, administered by the Canadian Association of Community Television Users and Stations (CACTUS).
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