Varsity News

Members of the anti-feminist group Justice for Men and Boys (J4MB) group were “milkshaked” by activists this afternoon in The Regal.

Two individuals were observed throwing McDonalds’ milkshakes over members and supporters of the organisation, including leader Mike Buchanan, as the group met at The Regal prior to an event set to be held in the Mill Lane lecture site this evening.

After throwing the milkshakes, the individuals involved fled, and were pursued by J4MB members down Downing Street and onto Pembroke Street. One individual was caught and held by their arm against their will by supporters of the group. They were surrounded by J4MB members before porters from Pembroke college arrived.

In a statement on their website and Twitter, J4MB affirmed that they “will press charges” and posted photos of Buchanan.

Over the past month, “milkshaking” – which consists of throwing a milkshake or similar liquid at a person – has become a popular form of political protest across the UK, used primarily against right-wing and far right politicians and activists, including Tommy Robinson and Nigel Farage.

Individuals involved in “milkshaking” have previously been charged with common assault and criminal damage after being arrested.

Members of J4MB (left) surrounded one of the individuals and porters intervened. Varsity News

As publicised on their website, J4MB were meeting at The Regal for “lunch and drinks” prior to an event set to be held this evening in the Mill Lane lecture rooms. Those at the pub included the speakers of the event, J4MB’s leader, Mike Buchanan and Director of Communications, Elizabeth Hobson, alongside supporters.

The political group was established in 2013 by Mike Buchanan, a self-proclaimed “men’s rights activist”. The other speaker for this evening’s event, Elizabeth Hobson, describes herself as an “Anti-feminist Gender Equality Activist”. The talk tonight is intended to cover topics such as reproductive rights, paternity fraud, and anonymity for suspected sexual offenders.

This evening’s scheduled event has been met with marked controversy: an open letter addressed to Stephen Toope, calling for the event to be cancelled, has been signed by over 500 students and academics. Failing cancellation, the open letter asked that the event be moved from the original site in the Alison Richard building to a non-departmental university building.

The event remains set to take place this evening, although it was ultimately relocated to the Mill Road lecture rooms.