A Maine school board meeting erupted into chaos Wednesday night when parents protesting the district’s transgender-athlete policy began undressing in front of board members.
The dramatic confrontation took place at an Augusta School Department meeting, where tensions were already high over the district’s decision to allow biological males to compete in girls’ sports.
The policy aligns with the Maine Human Rights Act, permitting students to join athletic teams based on their gender identity, even if it conflicts with their biological sex.
As board members attempted to move through the agenda, three protesters — two women and a man — suddenly stood up and removed their clothes down to their underwear.
The group was led by local activist Nick Blanchard, known in the area as “Corn Pop,” who said the stunt was meant to show the board “how uncomfortable it feels” for girls forced to share locker rooms with biological males.
“You feel uncomfortable? You feel uncomfortable, huh?” Blanchard shouted as the board tried to interject. “That’s what these young girls feel like every time a boy changes in front of them!”
Several board members appeared stunned, with some averting their eyes while others quietly called for order.
The scene quickly intensified as Blanchard escalated his criticism, as Trending Politics reported.
“You don’t care how young girls feel? You don’t care about the safety of young kids?” he shouted. “What about what happened in Virginia with that boy that raped a young girl in a bathroom, then got sent to another school and did it again? What are we going to do when that happens here?”
Blanchard then called out specific board members, accusing them of prioritizing political correctness over children’s safety.
“This is Maine’s capital — we should be setting an example for the rest of the state,” he said. “You know what example you guys are setting? That we do not care about the young girls in this state. You guys care about politics.”
The room fell silent as the man continued, invoking President Biden’s executive order that redefined Title IX protections to include gender identity — the federal action that prompted many school districts, including Augusta’s, to adopt transgender-athlete policies.
“Oh, we can’t change it because it’s law?” he asked rhetorically. “It got changed by an executive order by Biden, which is why we’re here in the first place.”
After the protest, Blanchard defended his stunt in an interview with Central Maine, saying he was overwhelmed by support.
“I’ve had over 150 people reach out thanking me for finally standing up,” he said.
The controversy comes after months of tension between the Trump administration and states resisting the federal interpretation of Title IX. In February, President Trump signed an executive order reversing the Biden-era rule, reaffirming that sports participation should be based on biological sex — not gender identity.
Maine’s refusal to comply with Trump’s directive has placed the state squarely at the center of a national debate over gender, safety, and the rights of young girls in school sports.
