As members of the Straight Pride event prepare to parade around Copley Square in Boston, organizers complain that Facebook shut down their page, Super Happy Fun America. And protesters are already on site en masse.
Organizer Sam Racioppi posted a video on Facebook where he talked about their page being removed.
At the parade, Racioppi boasted that they have “half a dozen floats” including the “Trump Unity Bridge” float.
https://twitter.com/AtwaterWCVB/status/1167832528453083136
“We have tons of American flags” as the event is a “patriotic celebration of traditional American values,” Racioppi.
https://twitter.com/sebishop99/status/1167814297398984705
About protests, Racioppi says Boston Mayor Marty Walsh is “busting our balls,” and has approved searches of bags at the event.
“It’s Great to be Straight,” or Super Happy Fun America was the name of the page that was up, then taken down, Racioppi said. He called for people to call the mayor’s office.
Protests are already underway. As well as arrests.
https://twitter.com/quincy_walters/status/1167849631469965313
“Boston Police just arrested a #StraightPrideParade counter protestor who seemed to initiate a confrontation with them. Crowd said “f**ck the police” after.”
https://twitter.com/popoulis/status/1167833739491233793
There’s a reports that “Boston Police have deployed OC spray due to milkshakes being thrown at police,” and that “Boston Police are finding handcuff keys and razor blades on some prisoners that they have arrested.”
https://twitter.com/BostonTVPhotog/status/1167838746672320512
https://twitter.com/erinspencer93/status/1167819146526167041
And apparently the parade itself may have begun ahead of schedule. Or at least marchers are being photographed and recorded.
https://twitter.com/willsommer/status/1167820761362501633
https://twitter.com/JordanUhl/status/1167821383021338628
Milo Yiannopoulos showed up just before the parade was about to kick off, as promised by organizers, wearing a bedazzled, sequined MAGA hat.
https://twitter.com/broderick/status/1167829223488274432
Here’s a (choppy and blurry) livestream of the event from organizers on YouTube and on Periscope.
https://youtu.be/lJjfHk47qEQ
Video of the event appears to show few parade marchers and numerous demonstrators. One reporter said the ratio is one parader per one media person and “police outnumber us all.”
https://twitter.com/anissagardizy8/status/1167817276755718150
https://twitter.com/PetesWire/status/1167824707640594432
https://twitter.com/broderick/status/1167820244582326272?s=20
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Boston ‘Straight Pride Parade’ & Protests Underway