Tamara Lich Appears at Global Summit With Leaders of European Far-Right, MAGA Republicans

Freedom Convoy leader Tamara Lich took a break from her ongoing criminal trial to make a special appearance at a summit of the global far-right.

The World Freedom Initiative Summit, a kind of mirror universe Davos, is billing itself as an “inspirational summit” that brings together political figures from the European far-right and Donald Trump’s MAGA faction of the US Republican Party.

The Paris Summit’s opening speech was delivered by the controversial far-right French presidential candidate Éric Zemmour on “the future of right-wing alliances.”

In his remarks, Zemmour lamented that New York City’s “African-American” mayor had allowed a “migrant crisis” to “destroy his city” and praised Hungary as a “country which is among the last in Europe to defend the Christian roots of our continent.”

Lich, who is currently in the middle of a criminal trial in Ottawa relating to her role in the three week occupation of Canada’s national capital, appeared via Zoom on a panel titled “Free Speech, Censorship and Lawfare” alongside several far-right French politicians who are allied with Zemmour.

“She is a symbol of hope for millions who see how totalitarian the Canadian government is becoming,” said moderator Eric Morillot, a French alternative media personality with a far-right website known as a top spreader of Covid-19 misinformation in France.

Reading from a script, Lich told attendees that the “government of Canada and the mainstream media worked in tandem” to “smear and discredit” her.

“In Canada, if you refuse to support the government-approved narrative, the media will censor you, smear you, defame you without care of your person, your life, your job or your family.”

Lich was repeatedly identified as the “leader of the Canada Convoy” by organizers.

Tamara Lich, leader of the Canada Convoy, has accepted to take part in the Worldwide Freedom Initiative and will be a speaker

Full details about the WFI https://t.co/RdYYtjD5bv
Seats are very limited. Buy your tickets now! https://t.co/wTcIuOzohI@freedomconvoy_ #FreedomConvoy pic.twitter.com/1ksgf1BP4G

— WFI2023 (@WFI2023) November 2, 2023

The summit was organized by an American group called “Republicans Overseas” and its affiliate “Republicans Oveaseas France,” which describes itself as “the only official and affiliated overseas arm of the Republican Party (RNC).”

Another event co-organizer is the Danube Institute, a right-wing English-language think tank based in Hungary that is devoted to the “transmission of ideas” to “the English-speaking world.” It is financed by the Batthyány Lajos Foundation, which is itself funded by Viktor Orbán’s far-right authoritarian government in Hungary.

The Danube Institute identifies itself as a “partner organization” of the American right-wing Heritage Foundation think tank.

In September, the Danube Institute hosted a conference that featured an oil and gas lobbyist from the Canadian Gas Association as one of its speakers.

iPolitics later reported the Danube Institute and an anti-carbon tax group called Canadians for Affordable Energy jointly funded five Conservative MPs’ travel costs for a junket this summer in the United Kingdom.

That trip is now under the microscope of the House of Commons’ ethics committee.

Speakers at the 2023 World Freedom Initiative Summit include:

• Mike Johnson: US Republican congressman from Louisiana recently elected Speaker of the House and “the most important architect” of plans to overturn the 2020 US presidential election results in favour of Trump on January 6.

• Éric Zemmour: An anti-immigrant far-right French presidential candidate considered more extreme than Marine LePen who was convicted of hate speech last year following two prior hate speech convictions.

• Nigel Farage: Former Member of the European Parliament and leader of the far-right, eurosceptic UK Independence Party and a lead figure in 2016 Brexit referendum.

• Kristi Noem: Governor of South Dakota who has publicly endorsed Trump’s 2024 presidential run and considered a potential Vice-Presidential nominee.

• Cory Lewandowski: Former campaign manager to Donald Trump.

• Balázs Orbán: A Hungarian Member of Parliament and political director to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán (no family relation) who has made appearances on Fox News and at the Heritage Foundation.

• Charles Gave: French millionaire, financier of the far-right and a top political donor to Eric Zemmour who also runs a French right-wing think tank that seeks to reeducate those “indoctrinated” by socialism.

• David Bossie: President and Chairman of the US political group Citizen’s United, former adviser to Donald Trump and a top RNC official.

• Rob Roos: A Dutch far-right Member of the European Parliament who occasionally appears on Fox News and criticizes vaccines and Covid-19 public health measures.

• Quisha King: Spokesperson for the anti-LGBTQ+ group Moms for Liberty.

• Devin Nunes: Former Republican congressman and close Trump ally who now serves as CEO of Trump’s Truth Social social media platform.