X claims partial victory after Australian eSafety commissioner drops lawsuit over video of violent attack on Christian bishop



The social media platform owned by tech titan Elon Musk and now known as X is celebrating a decision from the Australian eSafety commissioner to drop a lawsuit in connection with a violent attack on a Christian bishop earlier this year.

'My prophet': A religiously motivated attack on a Christian bishop

Back in April, Assyrian Orthodox Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel, 53, was livestreaming a service held at Christ the Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley, just outside Sydney, when a young man suddenly ran to the altar and stabbed Bishop Emmanuel and Fr. Isaac Royel, as Blaze News previously reported.

The suspected assailant, a 16-year-old boy, appeared to be motivated by Islamic extremism, as Bishop Emmanuel has previously criticized the Islamic religion.

"If [Bishop Emmanuel] didn't get himself involved in my religion, if he hadn't spoken about my prophet, I wouldn't have come here. … If he just spoke about his own religion, I wouldn’t have come," the suspect said during the attack, according to the livestream video.

Though the violent stabbing cost the bishop an eye, he has since forgiven his attacker and called him to Christian conversion: "This young man who did this act almost two weeks ago, I say to you, my dear, you are my son and you will always be my son. I will always pray for you. I will always wish you nothing but the best. I pray that my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ of Nazareth, to enlighten your heart, enlighten your soul, your entire being — to realize there is only one God who art in heaven. ... That God is Jesus Christ of Nazareth."

'Threaten free speech everywhere': X refuses to censor video

Thanks to the wonders of social media, a video of the brutal attack quickly went viral around the globe — much to the chagrin of Australian eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant, a woke American previously affiliated with Big Tech. Grant demanded that X remove the video "to protect Australians from" exposure to "this most extreme and gratuitous violent material."

The platform partially complied at first, censoring it in Australia. But when Grant and other Australian officials called for it to be suppressed across the globe, X stood firm.

"While X respects the right of a country to enforce its laws within its jurisdiction, the eSafety Commissioner does not have the authority to dictate what content X's users can see globally. ... Global takedown orders go against the very principles of a free and open internet and threaten free speech everywhere," said a statement from X's Global Government Affairs team.

Grant pressed on, filing a lawsuit in Australian federal court with a hearing scheduled for late June. However, the suit seemed doomed to fail after a judge denied Grant's request for an injunction against the video while the legal process continued.

'Welcome ... news': Commissioner retreats, drops lawsuit

On Wednesday, Grant announced that she was dropping the federal lawsuit altogether, preferring instead to focus on a separate case involving X. "Our sole goal and focus in issuing our removal notice was to prevent this extremely violent footage from going viral, potentially inciting further violence and inflicting more harm on the Australian community. I stand by my investigators and the decisions eSafety made," she said in a lengthy statement.

'He issued a dog whistle to 181 million users around the globe, which resulted in ... doxxing of my family members, including my three children.'

She also insisted that censoring the video was the right call and praised the platforms that did so, including Meta, Reddit, and TikTok. She then expressed disappointment that X didn't follow suit. "So it was a reasonable expectation when we made our request to remove extremely graphic video of an attack, that X Corp would take action in line with these publicly stated policies and practices," the statement continued.

She even hinted that the decision may have partially resulted from safety concerns, claiming in an interview that Elon Musk's recent comments about the issue have endangered her and her family.

"He issued a dog whistle to 181 million users around the globe, which resulted in death threats directed at me, which resulted in doxxing of my family members, including my three children," she said.

Apparently unfazed by the personal allegations, Musk has since reaffirmed his commitment to keep his platform free. "Freedom of speech is worth fighting for," he tweeted in connection with the story.

X's global leadership team likewise cheered Grant's decision to drop the lawsuit. "We welcome the news that the eSafety Commissioner is no longer pursuing legal action against X seeking the global removal of content that does not violate X’s rules," said X's Global Government Affairs division.

"This case has raised important questions on how legal powers can be used to threaten global censorship of speech, and we are heartened to see that freedom of speech has prevailed."

X filed a lawsuit in Australia's Administrative Appeals Tribunal seeking clarity on whether Grant was in the right to classify the stabbing video as a "class 1" example of "extreme violence material." Grant claims a ruling on the matter from the AAT will provide her with "operational certainty."

The AAT is expected to hear that case sometime next month.

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Bishop stabbed by Islamic terrorist speaks out against Australia's global censorship demands



Australian officials appear desperate to hide video evidence of a recent manifestation of anti-Christian hatred. Whereas Facebook was more than willing to aid in Australia's global censorship initiative, Elon Musk's X has indicated it will not comply.

This resistance has enraged Australian officials, prompting legal action and one senator to even declare that Musk should be imprisoned.

Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel, the survivor of the Islamic terror attack, cut through all the noise Wednesday, noting that he is not "opposed to the videos remaining on social media" and that freedom of speech is a "God-given right."

Background

A 16-year-old Islamic terrorist savagely stabbed Bishop Emmanuel during his April 15 evening sermon at Christ the Good Shepherd Church in Sydney. The attack at the Assyrian Orthodox church would likely have been fatal were it not for the bravery of the priest and parishioners who rushed to the defense of their bloodied leader, subdued the barbarian, and ultimately restored order to the sanctuary.

The attacker, who allegedly targeted the bishop over a perceived slight to Muhammad, apparently belongs to a network of radicals. The Associated Press reported that seven teens were arrested in Sydney Wednesday in connection to the terror attack. Two teens, one age 16 and the other 17, were charged with conspiring to engage in a terrorist act. Another was charged with carrying a knife in public.

The attack at the Christ the Good Shepherd Church was captured on film, providing the world with a stark reminder of a number of apparently inconvenient truths, not least that Christians remain a prime target for hatred, brutality, and repression, even in the welcoming Anglosphere.

Below is the video the Australia government wants us not to be able to view and is trying to censor globally. \n\nThis is the moment when a Jihadi is stabbing a Christian Bishop in Australia. \n\nYou know what to do. Share it as much as possible.\n\n\ud83d\udd0a
— (@)

Censors piggyback on anti-Christian violence

Blaze News previously reported that in the aftermath of the attack, the Australian government worked feverishly to suppress the video online.

X's Global Government Affairs team revealed Friday that the "Australian eSafety Commissioner ordered X to remove certain posts in Australia that publicly commented on the recent attack against a Christian Bishop" even though they had not violated the platform's content rules.

The commissioner is Julie Inman-Grant, an American leftist who previously worked as a government relations professional at Microsoft and Twitter. Despite an early flirtation with the CIA, she claims she never pursued a career with the agency.

Inman-Grant, who now also serves on the World Economic Forum's Global Coalition for Digital Safety and collaborates with the Biden White House's Gender Policy Council, has worked ardently in recent years to censor various other posts online that, while lawful, are offensive to progressive sensibilities.

For instance, she had Australian mother and breastfeeding advocate Jasmine Sussex censored for daring to suggest that men cannot breastfeed. Inman-Grant demanded earlier this year that a Canadian be censored over his criticism of a United Nations-affiliated transvestite. She also demanded that the feminist publication Reduxx take down an article detailing how a transvestite injured female players in a women's soccer game.

True to form, Inman-Grant — deemed the "Australian censorship commisar" by Musk — indicated she would exercise her powers under the Online Safety Act "to formally compel" X to remove the video of the bishop's stabbing.

X initially complied, geo-blocking the video in Australia pending a legal challenge. However, it was then threatened with a daily fine of roughly $500,000 if it didn't also "globally withhold these posts."

The Global Government Affairs team responded, "While X respects the right of a country to enforce its laws within its jurisdiction, the eSafety Commissioner does not have the authority to dictate what content X's users can see globally. ... Global takedown orders go against the very principles of a free and open internet and threaten free speech everywhere."

An Australian judge ruled Monday that X must block the video across the globe. On Wednesday, the judge exended this order, banning X from showing the video until May 10. Musk has said X will not delete the videos for users based in other countries.

Musk, whose app became the most downloaded news app in Australia earlier this week, posed the question Monday, "Our concern is that if ANY country is allowed to censor content for ALL countries, which is what the Australian 'eSafety Commissar' is demanding, then what is to stop any country from controlling the entire Internet?"

Outrage, uncensored

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters, "By and large, people responded appropriately to the calls by the eSafety Commissioner. X chose not to. They stand, I think — I find it extraordinary that X chose not to comply and trying to argue their case."

The prime minister has suggested that the video evidence of the attack amounts to "misinformation," as do memes of his head photoshopped onto images of other people's bodies.

New South Wales Police Force Commissioner Karen Webb similarly condemned the supposed "misinformation," stating, "I think leading a social media platform should bring with it big social, corporate responsibility."

"I think to have images like that online, they need to be removed immediately and not left up there," added Webb.

Australian Senator Jackie Lambie said, "I think [Elon Musk] a social media nob with no social conscience, he has absolutely no social conscience — someone like that should be in jail and the key be thrown away."

BREAKING\ud83d\udea8\n\nAustralian Senator, Jackie Lambie has called for Elon Musk to be JAILED for not complying to censorship requests from the Australian government\u2026 @elonmusk \n\nFREE SPEECH IS UNDER ATTACK
— (@)

Musk responded, calling Lambie "an enemy of the people of Australia."

Tanya Plibersek, Australia's environment minister, called Musk an "egotistical billionaire," stating that "it's more important for him to have his way than to respect the victims of the crimes that are being shown on social media and to protect our Australian community from the harmful impact of showing this terrible stuff on social media."

The victim central to the controversy kicked out the legs from under Plibersek's argument, indicating he doesn't mind the video being online.

'God-given right'

Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel cut through the noise Wednesday, expressing concern in an audio statement that bad actors were using his stabbing "to serve their own political interest to control free speech."

"I do acknowledge the Australian government's desire to have the videos removed because of their graphic nature," said the bishop. "However, noting our God-given right to freedom of speech and freedom of religion, I'm not opposed to the videos remaining on social media."

"I would be of great concern if people use the attack on me to serve their own political interests to control free speech," continued Bishop Emmanuel. "The moment we oppress this very freedom of speech and religion, we are losing the very human identity and dignity as well."

"I do not wish for what has happened to me to be ... a threat to the very human freedom and freedom of religion," added Emmanuel.

Extra to making clear the censorship regime is not acting in his name and expressing forgiveness for his attacker, he stressed his patriotism, noting, "I'm a proud Aussie."

In light of the country's celebration of Anzac Day, he thanked those Aussies who had fought to protect freedom of speech and religion.

Sydney church stabbing: Multiple people injured during service | 7 News Australiayoutu.be

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Bishop, priest, and parishioners stabbed in Australian church just days after nearby mall massacre



A bearded knifeman savagely attacked a conservative Assyrian Orthodox bishop, a priest, and several parishioners Monday in a Sydney suburb. The attack took place in the sanctuary of Christ the Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley, just days after another extremist slaughtered at least six people at a nearby shopping center, wounding several more, including a baby.

Several local protests have reportedly erupted in the area, signaling Australians' growing frustration with what appears to be imported radicalism.

According to the New South Wales Police Force, officers were dispatched around 7:10 p.m. to the Christ the Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley following reports that "a number of people were stabbed."

The attack was captured on film during the Good Shepherd Church's livestream. Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel can be seen giving a sermon as a man in a black hooded sweatshirt strides up to the altar. It appears the attacker has something in his hand, which he strikes into the bishop's face, shoulder, neck, and head, while parishioners scream in terror. The attacker continues to stab the bishop after he falls to the ground.

Several men and women — including a priest and a nun — can be seen rushing through the sanctuary, with some prying the attacker off the Iraq-born Australian of the Assyrian Church of the East before the camera pans to the side and the feed cuts out.

JUST IN: Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel, who was stabbed in Sydney, Australia, has survived the stabbing for now. \n \nThe incident happened at Christ the Good Shepherd Church. \n \nAccording to Sky News, 4 people in total were stabbed. One man in his 60s and another man in his 20s were\u2026
— (@)

Police indicated the attacker is presently in custody and the injuries suffered at his hands are non-life threatening.

Chris Minns, the state premier of New South Wales, stated, "Disturbing scenes tonight in Wakeley tonight."

"It's important that the community remain calm and continue to listen and act to the directions of Police and Emergency Services. We are a strong community in NSW and it’s important that we all stick together, particularly in the face of adversity," added Minns.

In the aftermath of the church stabbing, thousands of people poured into the streets, offering condemnations of the attack and venting their vexation. Riot Squad officers apparently came out in force to drive parishioners and protesters away from the church.

The Telegraph reported that police deployed tear gas in response to alleged riots around the church and chants of "an eye for an eye."

Fairfield Mayor Frank Carbone told Sky News Australia, "Bishops and priests[,] they're very very important in our community, they only preach love and peace, and to have this happen to one of them is horrific."

"However, I understand a lot of members in our community are really distraught but what is important is I believe that the bishop has been taken to hospital and should be okay," said Carbone. "We live in difficult times right now … so I can understand frustration and the anger from the communities but I ask them as the mayor just to please be calm."

Christ the Good Shepherd Church issued a statement saying, "Our beloved Bishop, His Grace Mar Mari Emmanuel, and Father Isaac have been admitted to hospital. They are in a stable condition. We ask for your prayers at this time."

"It is the Bishop's and Father's wishes that you also pray for the perpetrator," continued the statement. "We also kindly ask anyone at the Church premises to leave in peace, as our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, teaches us."

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