Freedom of Speech

Summary:
Geert Wilders, a member of Parliament in The Netherlands and chairman of the Dutch Freedom Party, is also the producer of the controversial film “Fitna,” which characterized the Koran as “hate speech.” In January 2009, when Wilders arrived in London to show his film to the House of Lords, he was thrown into detention at Heathrow Airport and sent back to The Netherlands hours later. This was the first time Britain refused entry to an elected politician from another member state of the EU.

Strategy:
The expulsion sparked heated debate in The Netherlands and the UK around freedom of speech, and rallied considerable support for Wilders. When he flew to the U.S. in late February 2009, DDC set up interviews for him in New York City, Boston and Washington, DC, to publicize this egregious breech of freedom of speech and support fundraising efforts for his legal defense.

Results:
Within a few days, we secured so many A-List media meetings that we were forced to close his schedule for any others. Wilders had an editorial luncheon at the Wall Street Journal, and interviews on The O’Reilly Factor, Glenn Beck, Bill Bennett, CNN American Morning, CNN International, Michael Graham, CBN, Laura Ingraham, with the Washington Times, Jeff Jacoby of the Boston Globe, Jed Babbin of Human Events, and Andy McCarthy of the National Review Online.