After disruptions to two LGBTQ pride events over the weekend — the arrest of a group of extremists who allegedly planned to riot near a Pride event in Idaho and the interruption of a “Drag Queen Story Hour” in the Bay Area — organizers of similar events this June say they are on edge as Pride Month continues.
“I think it should be a stark reminder this is probably not the last time we are going to see something like this,” said Katie Carter, the CEO of Pride Foundation, an LGBTQ philanthropic organization that focuses on the northwestern U.S. “Our community needs to be on the hypervigilant side of safety.”
In Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, police detained 31 men near a Pride in the Park event on Saturday, all of them members of a white nationalist group called Patriot Front. Most had traveled to Idaho from other states, authorities said, and the group was outfitted with riot shields, shin guards and at least one smoke grenade.
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