Late Night 'Emergency Ruling': Conservatism Conference Can Go Ahead, Mayor Exceeded Authority by Sending Police to Shut Down Free Speech | 17 April 2024 | A Brussels mayor who ordered police to shut down a conservative conference exceeded his authority and the event will go ahead unmolested today, a late-night court decision has ruled, citing the right to freedom to assembly in the national constitution. The National Conservatism Conference in Brussels - the heart of the European Union - was shut down by police on Tuesday, who blocked the entrance and prevented speakers including a French Presidential Candidate and members of the European Parliament from getting inside. The bullying tactics by the municipal mayor, who boasted he was using public safety concerns to run conservatives out of the city, followed the conference having already been turned out of two previous venues in less than a week as other left-wing local mayors pressured them to cancel bookings.