Subhead:The former professor was peacefully engaging students in discussion about the false Kamloops 215 unmarked residential school graves claim when arrested, with fallout seeing a $150,000 donation to the school pulled over free expression concerns.#
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What Dr. Frances Widdowson says was meant to be a quiet conversation over coffee with willing University of Lethbridge students this past Saturday ended with her handcuffed and detained in a police paddy wagon instead.
The former University of Calgary professor and outspoken advocate for academic freedom was arrested while attempting to engage students in discussion about the widely-circulated-but-false claim that 215 children were discovered in unmarked graves at the Kamloops Indian Residential School back in 2021.
Despite the narrative being repeated by political leaders, media outlets and academic institutions, no bodies have been publicly confirmed as recovered to date.
BREAKING Frances Widdowson Arrest:
Free speech advocate, Dr. Frances Widdowson, known for challenging the Aboriginal industry, was just arrested at Lethbridge University.https://t.co/Gi9Wj4LxWc pic.twitter.com/40KLUOA55f
— Drea Humphrey (@DreaHumphrey) April 25, 2026
According to Widdowson, her intent was deliberately restrained.
“I wanted to go and do the most low-key thing that I could possibly imagine, which would be having a coffee with a student or students or the public,” she said, explaining she avoided publicizing her visit in an effort to prevent confrontation.
