Trans/genderqueer digital rights activist Evan Greer protested anti-LGBTQ+ Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) during Mace’s discussion at The Summit of the Future of the Internet, a two-day event that began Thursday. Mace — who has recently become infamous for demonizing Rep.-elect Sarah McBride (D-DC), the first trans person ever elected to Congress — spoke at the summit alongside Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) who said onstage that he “profoundly” disagreed with Mace’s transphobia.

Greer —who is director of Fight for the Future, a nonprofit that protects human rights in the digital age — unfurled a progress Pride flag during the discussion and shouted at Mace, saying, “This is ridiculous. It is the day after Trans Day of [Remembrance]. We have had dozens of trans people die this year because of the hate and lies you are spreading.” Audience members began applauding in response.

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Security guards quickly escorted Greer out of the conference room as she asked, “Are we building an Internet with free speech and safety for all people? Or just the privileged few?”

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In response, Mace misgendered Greer, saying, “God loves him, I love him, but his penis isn’t gonna be in my bathroom.” The crowd booed Mace’s response.

The discussion, entitled “At a Digital Crossroads: Bipartisan Tech Solutions to Unite a Nation,” was ostensibly to “explore how policymakers and citizens can come together to create a better online experience for all Americans,” according to the website of the summit’s organizers, Project Freedom.

In a statement to LGBTQ Nation, Greer said, “I spoke up not just because Rep. Mace’s rhetoric is vile and dangerous, but also to prompt a conversation with the tech policy community. Are we going to cozy up to bigots and authoritarians just because they claim to also be ‘against Big Tech’?”

“As a seasoned tech justice advocate, I am familiar with how things work in DC,” she said. “I’ve often worked across the aisle with lawmakers and organizations that I profoundly disagree with when we have shared goals around protecting privacy and free expression. But Rep. Mace has no significant background on these issues. She has nothing meaningful or substantive to add to the conversation. It seems that she was invited to the Project Liberty conference for the sole purpose of ‘throwing a bone’ to far-right extremists.”

“We are at a crossroads where technology will either be a force for justice, liberation and resistance to authoritarianism, or it will be a tool for the automation of tyranny, exploitation and greed,” Greer added. “I know which side I’m on. I’m asking other tech advocates to figure out where they stand.”

Greer noted that her organization is advocating for strong privacy legislation and privacy-enhancing technologies like end-to-end encryption, and opposing surveillance tech like facial recognition and legislation like the Kids Online Safety Act and the EARN IT Act, which could lead to online censorship of LGBTQ+ content. These efforts, Greer said, will be essential for keeping queer and trans people safe during Trump’s “hostile” administration.

LGBTQ Nation contacted Project Liberty to ask why the organization invited Mace to its summit and if it had any response to Greer’s protest. This article will be updated if the organization responds.

Mace has spent the week demonizing Rep.-elect McBride. Mace has misgendered and deadnamed McBride; claimed that McBride, trans people, and their allies are a threat to the safety of women and girls; repeatedly discussed McBride’s genitals on national television; and called her “mentally ill.”

Mace also persuaded House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) to introduce a rule banning all trans people from using restrooms in the Capitol that match their gender identity. Numerous LGBTQ+-allied Congress people have criticized Mace’s “vile” and “disgusting” rhetoric. McBride has called Mace’s attacks a “distraction” but said she will abide by Johnson’s bathroom rule, even though she personally disagrees with it.

After Greer was escorted from the room, Khanna said, “Rep. Mace, on the issue of transgender rights, we just have a profound disagreement…. I think Rep. McBride deserves dignity.”

Mace responded, “I’m not going to allow you or any other man to erase women, period. You’re not going to erase me or my rights. At all.”

Khanna continued, “We have worked together on a lot of legislation… but on that, we have a very profound disagreement.”

While he was speaking, Mace said, “And you’re wrong. You’re on the wrong side of history on that.” She then said it’s not okay for “men” to watch her undress in a changing room or bathroom.

As Mace continued, the conversation’s moderator, Charlamagne Tha God — co-host of the nationally syndicated radio show The Breakfast Club — said, “Hey, we came here to talk about tech.” The audience applauded his remark.

Khanna then mentioned that he went on the broadcast of right-wing broadcaster Megyn Kelly to talk about trans rights. The audience began to groan as Mace said, “You’re anti-women.” The audience began to shout, “Move on!”

As the moderator tried to steer the conversation back to tech, Khanna said, “That just shows that the divisions in this country aren’t just caused by tech, they’re caused by a fundamental difference in values.”

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