White Supremacists Assault Man At MT Pride Event

Montana Right Now reports:

The Bozeman Pride Stroll was interrupted by a group of protesters wearing masks and sunglasses to protect their identities while chanting and carrying signs promoting white supremacy and condemning the LGBTQ+ community.

The group walked up and down Main Street and other side streets while engaging with bystanders who shouted back at them. One bystander who engaged, Joseph Wood, ended up getting assaulted.

Wood said he was walking near the group when one protester handed him a flyer. He continued walking near them and another protester tried blocking his path. They ultimately got into a verbal altercation that escalated into the man hitting Wood in the face with a shield, then another man pepper sprayed him.

The Bozeman Daily Chronicle reports

About an hour into the event, as community organizations gathered at Soroptimist Park, a group of about 20 white supremacists showed up and started chanting hateful, anti-LGBTQ+ statements at the crowd. Many of them had their faces covered and held signs with racist and homophobic slogans.

Many pride attendees simply ignored them, or tried to block them from the rest of the park. Alotta Shadow — an organizer of the event going by her drag name — said they were bothered by the protesters, but resolved to continue with the event.

“I think it’s ridiculous to have people’s safety put at risk simply for being themselves,” Shadow said. “It’s unfortunate, it’s a reality. But we’re queer, we’re here, we’re not going away, and we will not be silenced. And we’ll be here for the rest of eternity.”

The attacked man was treated by an ambulance crew and it doesn’t appear that any arrests were made. Give the images below a minute to fully load.