Amid Backlash, 'Legalize Rape' Blogger Cancels Men's Group Meetings in Peninsula

By TIM MORAN (Patch Staff)

LOS ANGELES, CA - A worldwide anti-woman, purportedly pro-rape group was planning to meet at various locations throughout the world on their “International Meetup Day” this Saturday, but has decided to pull the plug as public scrutiny grows.

According to a statement by the group’s self-proclaimed leader “Roosh V,” he decided to cancel the meetings because he could “no longer guarantee the safety or privacy of the men who want to attend on February 6.”

“While I can’t stop men who want to continue meeting in private groups, there will be no official Return Of Kings meetups,” he wrote Wednesday evening. “The listing page has been scrubbed of all locations. I apologize to all the supporters who are let down by my decision.”

The Return of Kings and “Roosh V.” have published blogs advocating for the legalization of rape when off public grounds and have often tweeted about the best ways to trick women into having sex with them.

An official White House petition to label them a terrorist group has garnered more than 1,000 signatures.

There were 13 of the “men’s rights” locations for Saturday’s 8 p.m. meeting in California, including:

• Long Beach
• Los Angeles
• Newport Beach
• Orange County
• Palm Springs
• Redwood City
• Roseville
• San Diego (two locations)
• San Francisco
• San Leandro
• Santa Barbara
• Sherman Oaks

As word of Saturday’s meetings spread through various news organizations and on social media, many readers met the announcement with incredulity, and some with pure outrage.

“Roosh V” is Daryush Valizadeh, the writer of a number of books advising men on the best ways to have sex with women. He has been dubbed as “the web’s most infamous misogynist” and says he bases his beliefs on “neomasculinity.”

In one of his most notorious posts, he writes:

I thought about this problem and am sure I have the solution: make rape legal if done on private property. I propose that we make the violent taking of a woman not punishable by law when done off public grounds.

An odd Q and A on the event webpage– before it was taken down Wednesday night– made it clear women weren’t allowed to Saturday’s meetup, and neither were gay or underage men.

A question regarding the possibility of “crazy feminists” showing up elicited a chilling response.

“Record them with your camera, upload the footage to Dropbox, and then send it to me at roosh@rooshv.com afterwards so we can tear them up.”

According to the group meetup page, once all members had congregated near the meetup the host of the gathering was going to lead them to a secret location. The code phrase for group members was said to be “Do you know where I can find a pet shop?,” at which time another member would say “Yes, it’s right here.”

Feminist groups planned to show up at the various meetups as part of a counter-protest, according to multiple media reports. Police departments in some Return of Kings targeted cities warned women not to interfere, fearing this may be a ruse for the men to commit rape.

A look at the comments below the meetup info on the Return of Kings page made it appear like Roosh indeed has a following. The infamous blogger says he will be at the Washington D.C. meetup during the time. In all, 165 meetings are planned in 43 countries.

Three sections of the Return of Kings have been formed, according to the blog: one each in Chicago, D.C. and Poland.

– Patch Editor Renee Schiavone contributed to this report.