What began as something of a joke turned into reality over the weekend as a “Straight Pride” parade was held in Boston, Massachusetts as an attempt to lampoon LGBTQ pride parades that have seemingly become ubiquitous in Democrat-controlled urban centers in recent years.
Of course, the left doesn’t like to be mocked, so counter protesters were organized to oppose the heterosexual demonstration, and many of them were allied with or identified as members of Antifa, a violent leftist group. Those disruptors were in turn supported by the likes of Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who helped raise funds ahead of the event to provide bail money for the Antifa-linked protesters who would potentially face arrest.
Bail for Antifa
The Daily Caller reported that Ocasio-Cortez posted a link on social media to the “Solidarity Against Hate Legal Defense Fund,” which sought to raise money “to cover any legal fees, as well as supplies for jail support (rides home, food, changes of clothes, etc),” with any additional funds raised above and beyond those needs going to a general bail fund for incarcerated individuals and an organization focused on protecting minorities who identify as LGBTQs.
The congresswoman tweeted on Saturday, “One way to support the local LGBTQ community impacted by Boston’s white supremacist parade? Contribute to the Bail Fund for the activists who put themselves on the line protecting the Boston community (Any $ left over goes to @MassBailFund+@Boston_GLASS)”
Ocasio-Cortez’s tweet also shared a link to a post from her fellow “squad” member, Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley, who was also helping promote the fundraiser to garner bail money for the Antifa-linked demonstrators.
Three dozen arrests
As it turned out, the bail money proved necessary, with the Boston Herald reporting that at least 36 Antifa-linked protesters were arrested by local law enforcement, at least nine of them for assault and battery on a police officer. Most of the rest were charged with disorderly conduct, though quite a few also faced charges of carrying deadly weapons or resisting arrest.
A separate report from the Herald noted the affiliation with Antifa that was prevalent among the counterprotesters and even included a quote from Jon Crowley, an openly-declared Antifa member.
“We’re covered in black so when we attack these guys we can’t be prosecuted,” said Crowley. He then added, “They are fascists, 100%. How else are you going to get them to shut up?”
As for Ocasio-Cortez’s assertion that the event was a “white supremacist parade,” that characterization seems to have been foisted upon the Boston event by those opposed to it, despite strenuous denials from parade organizers and attendees that the event was, quite literally, solely about expressing pride in heterosexuality and nothing more.
Organizers slam AOC
In a statement provided to The Daily Caller, the parade organizers — a group known as Super Happy Fun America — said in response to Ocasio-Cortez’s assertion of white supremacy, “Not sure which parade and ceremony she watched over the weekend, but of the 12 speakers on our stage, five were African-American, four were women, and three were African-American women.”
“Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ayanna Pressley also shared a link to a bail fundraiser set up in advance of the parade, which gives people the impression that they condone illegal behavior,” the organizers continued. “This is not a good example for elected officials to set, and contributes to dangers associated with free-speech and activism in general.”
“The only connections to racism are in the deluded minds of protesters who all repeat the same mantra against those whom they disagree with: Racist, Fascist, Nazi, etc., are what detractors fall back on when their arguments are met with logical and rational push-back. They cannot win on an intellectual level, so they resort to name-calling. Those same people must have missed the Israeli flags and African-American supporters in our group,” the group’s statement added.