‘Free speech bus’ makes it to Harvard — and is met with bomb threats

After being vandalized and graffitied during its recent trip through New York City, the bus arrived in Boston this morning, stopping at City Hall, the State House, and Cambridge, consecutively. It made its final stop at Harvard Square, where it was met with dozens of angry protesters and threats to blow up the vehicle.

Transgender lobbyists who attended the protests called the bus ‘discriminatory’ and ‘hateful.’ Messages written on the bus included “downright frightening” lines such as “boys are boys,” and “girls are girls.”

“I find it really horrifying, especially after all the strides that we’ve made, that something like this moving vehicle of hate can just come into our city and spread a really toxic message,’’ said Logan Nelson, a transgender student. “But out of all of this it’s really good to see how quickly everybody responded.”

Harvard’s LGBTQ office of Student Life hosted a counter-event this week, where students would sign a banner in protest of the bus. They were ready for the buss when it arrived. One person threw a cup of coffee at the bus in disgust. Others raised the transgender flag at City Hall as it stopped there.

Only two people were reportedly inside the bus as it entered Cambridge: the bus driver and one passenger. The bus is modeled after a similar one in Madrid, which displayed the message in Spanish, “There are girls with penises and boys with vulvas. It’s as simple as that.” Chelsea Clinton took to Twitter to beg activists in the United States not to do the same.

The bus is sponsored by pro-marriage groups such as the National Organization for Marriage, CitizenGo, and the International Organization for the Family.