The 2024 Toronto Pride parade on June 30, 2024. (Screen capture via Johnny Strides/YouTube)
Toronto Pride parade organizers cancelled the annual event June 30 after a group of pro-Palestinian protesters disrupted it.
Media reports indicate more than two dozen protesters blocked the parade near the intersection of Yonge and Wellesley Streets, and chanted “from the river to the sea” and “Pride was a riot.”
The Toronto Star reported the protesters disrupted the parade at around 5:30 p.m., more than three hours after it began. Toronto Pride around 45 minutes later announced the parade’s cancellation.
“Today, we made the decision to cancel the remainder of the Pride Parade out of our commitment to ensuring public safety,” they said in a statement. “While we deeply respect and uphold everyone’s right to peacefully protest, our foremost priority is the well-being of all participants and spectators.”
“We recognize the Pride parade as a highly anticipated event that many organizations and individuals eagerly prepare for,” it added. “We empathize with those who were looking forward to participating and regret any inconvenience caused by this decision.”
The Coalition Against Pinkwashing organized the protest.
Protesters disrupt NYC Pride parade
This year’s Pride Month took place eight months after Hamas launched its surprise attack against southern Israel.
The Israeli government says Hamas militants killed roughly 1,200 people on Oct. 7, 2023, including at least 260 partygoers and others at the Nova Music Festival. The Israeli government says upwards of 80 people who were taken hostage on Oct. 7 remain alive in the Gaza Strip.
The Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry says more than 35,000 people have died in the enclave since the war began. The National LGBTQ Task Force and Outright International are among the groups that have called for a ceasefire.
The New York Daily News reported the New York Police Department on Sunday arrested 10 pro-Palestinian protesters who disrupted the city’s annual Pride parade near the Stonewall Inn. The newspaper said those who the NYPD took into custody, among other things, threw red paint onto a pickup truck inside police barricades.
The Telegraph on Saturday reported London police arrested more than 30 pro-Palestinian activists to prevent them from disrupting the city’s annual Pride parade that took place on the same day.
A Wider Bridge, a group that “advocates for justice, counters LGBTQphobia, and fights antisemitism and other forms of hatred,” last month called upon Pride organizers to ensure Jewish can safely participate in their events.
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