Bruce Lehrmann has withdrawn from a $110-a-head speech event organized by a prominent men’s rights activist following his crushing defeat for defamation.
Bruce Lehrmann was due to headline a conference called ‘Restoring the Presumption of Innocence’, to be held at an undisclosed location in Sydney’s Rushcutters Bay on June 1.
The event was organized by author and #MenToo advocate Bettina Arndt and sponsored by Mothers of Sons, a group of “ordinary women” whose sons have been falsely accused of gender-based violence.
It promised to “challenge the groupthink that silences our cultural dialogue to expose the truth about what counts as justice in Australia.”
Lehrmann was set to be a star attraction, but Mothers of Sons confirmed on social media Tuesday that he was canceling “in light of recent events.”
The measure came just one day after Federal Court Judge Michael Lee found on a civil standard that he raped Brittany Higgins on March 23, 2019.
“In light of recent events, Bruce Lehrmann has decided not to appear at the Restoring the Presumption of Innocence conference,” the post said.
“He is being pursued extremely aggressively by the media and is concerned that his participation could endanger the public, jeopardize this important event and divert attention from its main purpose.
‘ASF and Mothers and Sons have accepted his decision and will find an alternative presenter, while ensuring that the Lehrmann case continues to receive due attention at the conference as a powerful example of media adjudication that violates the crucial legal principle of the presumption of innocence.’
More to come