A ‘straight pride’ march held in front of a California abortion clinic descended into violence as attendees clashed with counter-protesters and police.
The National Straight Pride Coalition touted the event as a celebration of ‘heterosexuality, masculinity, femininity, babies – born and unborn and Western straight civilization, our wonderful country and Christianity.’
Founder Don Grundmann promised a calm organized march, telling the Modesto City council in early August: ‘We’re a peaceful group, we wanted to have a meeting. We’re attacked as racist. We’re a totally peaceful racist group.’
But it quickly descended into violence, as angry pro-LGBT rights groups clashed with officers deployed to maintain calm at the event.
On Saturday morning at the corner of McHenry and West Orangeburg avenues, the group was joined by the sympathetic rightwing group the Proud Boys, who helped organize the January 6 attack on the Capitol Building.
A large contingent of LGBTQ and pro-choice counter-protesters who took offense to the message behind the march also showed up – and violence ensued.
Skirmishes broke out between the groups, with counter-protesters draped in rainbow colored capes and holding placards that read ‘Only the struggle has won – Women’s Rights,’ ‘Fascists not welcome’ and ‘Straight Pride is Hate Pride.’
LGBTQ protesters threw bottles and, in one heated clash, swung signs on sticks at the Straight Pride members, driving them back away from the clinic toward the parking lot of a local Wendy’s.
A flash grenade or firecracker went off, igniting the bush near the abortion clinic and filling the air with white smoke.
Police in riot gear – helmets, shields and batons – arrived to drive the LGBTQ counter-protesters back and disperse the groups.
There was a brief standoff in the parking lot of the Planned Parenthood clinic in which a phalanx of police pushed up against a wall of LGBTQ protesters.
Police could be seen pointing shotguns armed with pepper balls – hard plastic projectiles – at the crowd and firing. Authorities drove the counter-protesters back to a local car lot where they drifted apart.
‘We have two armies to go up against when we stand for our rights: we have to deal with the cops attacking us, and we’re about to get a second wave of right-wing extremists. We’re fearful of them attacking us as well,’ Odette Zapata, who came from Sacramento as part of a caravan against the Straight Pride Coalition march, told the Modesto Bee.
Police told the newspaper that three people were arrested in the violence, two members of the Proud Boys and one LGBTQ counter-protester for failure to disburse.
* Article from: dailymail.co.uk.com
