Crime & Safety

4 Police Officers Injured, More Than 30 Arrests At Straight Pride

Meanwhile, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) mocked the lack of women at the event, calling it the "I-Struggle-With-Masculinity" parade.

Boston police have not released an estimate on how many people attended, but counter-protesters outnumbered participants in Saturday's Straight Pride parade.
Boston police have not released an estimate on how many people attended, but counter-protesters outnumbered participants in Saturday's Straight Pride parade. (Jimmy Bentley/Patch Staff)

BOSTON — Police arrested 36 people at Saturday's Straight Pride Parade, and reported that four police officers were injured during the event. As of Sunday morning, officials had not released a final tally for the estimated number of people that attended the event, which started at noon and ended at 4 p.m. It's also not clear how many of the people arrested were protesters and how many were participants in the event.

A group calling itself Super Happy Fun America organized the parade, which ended at Boston City Hall with speeches and the raising of the 'Straight' flag. Organizer John Hugo had said he expected at least 2,000 people to take part, but fewer than 300 marchers eventually gathered in a cordoned-off area for the City Hall rally. Speakers, including Super Happy Fun America's vice president Mark Sahady, told the crowd the organization put on the event to fight for the rights of an "oppressed majority."

The parade and its months-long fight for a permit drew national attention.

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On Saturday, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez continued her criticism of the event. In a Twitter post, she noted that the event had drawn few women and called it the "I-Struggle-With-Masculinity" parade. In another post, she asked supporters to donate money for bail for protesters who were arrested.


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