Canadian activist Chris Elston was four minutes into filming at Madrid’s Puerta del Sol when police arrived.
Elston, known for standing in public squares with signs such as “no child is born in the wrong body” and “children cannot consent to puberty blockers,” traveled to Spain under invitation from a pro-life organization called Hazteoir and its international offshoot Citizen Go.
He had Spanish-language signs prepared, consulted a lawyer the night before, and confirmed he was within his legal rights. Despite this, police intervened.
“I was there for probably four minutes,” Elston told Ezra Levant on Thursday’s episode of The Ezra Levant Show. “I had just recorded a one-minute intro after setting up my tripod beside a pillar to stay out of the way.”
The police declared his activity “prohibido.” Within 10 to 15 minutes, a second police vehicle arrived and seized his phone, tripod, signs, and a second phone.
Elston was taken to a police station and held for nearly two hours with no communication—until he managed to send a message through his Apple Watch to contacts in Spain who dispatched lawyers.
“Magically, I was released with a fine but there’s no number on the fine,” he said, noting his intention to appeal. “I don’t think police should be able to abuse their authority like that.”
After release, Elston had tapas with his lawyers and returned to the same spot in the town square.
This is not Elston’s first encounter with law enforcement. In Brussels, after speaking at the European Parliament, he was administratively arrested, handcuffed, transferred to a second police station, and strip-searched.
“You don’t know what these guys are going to do,” he said, noting his Apple Watch alerted him that his heart rate ranged from 110 to 120 beats per minute.
Elston and Levant discussed how the incident reflects a broader pattern. Before Elon Musk acquired Twitter, every one of Elston’s posts was flagged as adult content for 13 months straight—making it impossible to grow his platform. After Musk’s acquisition, Elston said his account became active, and Musk now subscribes to his feed.
“He pays me $5 a month,” Elston added. “I do the same for him—it’s a wash.”
On free speech more broadly, Elston was blunt:
“I really think that the powers that be are hostile to freedom of speech because they want to control all the debates, especially controversial subjects like transgenderism and children,” Ezra said.
“If Democrats win the next election in a few years, it’s all just going to be repeated again,” warned Elston.
