Lars Hedegaard (born 19 September 1942) is a Danish author, historian, editor, journalist and critic of Islam.

[11] He was an editor for the Nordic Council throughout the 1990s,[5] and became part of the satirical editorial column "Groft sagt" for Berlingske Tidende in 1998.

[5] In 2016, Hedegaard participated in a "counterjihad" panel at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in the United States, sponsored by Frank Gaffney and the Center for Security Policy.

[22] In December 2009, Hedegaard was reported to the police by Yilmaz Evcil of the Århus Municipality integration council for comments made against Muslims.

[25] Later the same year, in May, the acquittal was reversed as he was convicted of hate speech under the Article 266b, and fined 5,000 kr,[26] even as he clarified that he did not intend to accuse all Muslims of abusing their children.

[29] The Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt condemned the attack and said the case was even more severe if the motive was to prevent Hedegaard from using his free speech.

The Islam Society, which had been heavily involved in the protest against the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons and helped to publicise their opposition internationally, stated that it regretted its role during the controversy, and the Danish branch of Minhaj-ul-Quran demonstrated outside the City Hall in defence of Hedegaard and free speech.

[33] Since the attack, Hedegaard has been constantly guarded by the Danish Security and Intelligence Service (PET), and has had to live in hiding in a rural place in Denmark on a secret address.

[34] He went on a leave of absence as chairman of the Danish Free Press Society after the assassination attempt, and finally left the position to Katrine Winkel Holm in 2014.