A masked individual has been arrested by police after dumping a cup of liquid on Rebel News reporter Drea Humphrey and Dr. Tom Flanagan during a free-speech event at the University of Calgary on Tuesday afternoon.

Humphrey and Flanagan were seated listening to a student's opinions when the person wearing a medical mask dumped what appeared to be the contents of a water bottle on the pair.

🚨 WATCH: Today, while Dr. Tom Flanagan and reporter Drea Humphrey were having civil conversations with students who disagreed with their stance on residential schools, someone chose to pour an entire bottle of water on Dr. Flanagan’s head.

This is an outrageous attack on… pic.twitter.com/2k81koqcZq

— Students For Free Speech (@FreeSpeech_CAN) September 29, 2026

The individual was quickly detained by private security accompanying the Canadian Students for Free Speech event.

Go Ad Free

Both Humphrey and Flanagan, a former professor at the University of Calgary and adviser to Stephen Harper, were unharmed.

The pair then provided statements to the RCMP after being taken to a secure area.

Prior to the assault, a peaceful debate had been occurring for over an hour before a man started yelling and an aggressive mob then formed. The onlookers chanted at security to "let them go."

A statement from The Democracy Fund said "The atmosphere changed when a student approached the table, shouting that the speakers were 'white supremacists' and demanding they leave campus" before others began chanting "get off campus."

"While conversations were still taking place, a masked individual walked up behind the speakers and emptied a full water bottle over Dr. Flanagan's head, soaking Ms. Humphrey as well, before attempting to walk away," the statement said.

"Our speakers sat at a table for ninety minutes and invited anyone who disagreed to make their case, engaging in civil debate. That is what a university is for. The response from a minority of students was to call them names, chant at them, and finally assault them," said executive director Mark Joseph.

William Diaz-Berthiaume, who organized the event as part of the civil liberties group's national campus tour, said the day had been "one of the best" up until the assault.

"A few people decided that argument was not enough and that intimidation was the answer. They will not decide where we go next," added Diaz-Berthiaume, a former Rebel News contributor who now serves as The Democracy Fund's national campus coordinator.

Canadian Students for Free Speech hosts public debate-style free-speech events on campuses across Canada and is a project organized by The Democracy Fund.