News (USA)

Police conduct mass arrest of post-Pride partiers in Chicago

The arrests began at 1:23 a.m. in the Lakeview neighborhood, but what happened isn't exactly queer.
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Police declared a “mass arrest situation” in Chicago, Illinois on Sunday night following the city’s annual Pride parade.

The arrests began at 1:23 a.m. in the Lakeview neighborhood of Chicago, with police ordering a mass arrest, but no other information was given. The Chicago police department has not announced how many people were arrested during or after the parade.

Related:

Over 40 attacks on LGBTQ+ symbols occurred in 21 states during Pride month

“We’re resilient,” one Pride group member said of the attacks. “No matter what the cost is, we’re not going to back down.”

CWB Chicago reported widespread fights and disruption throughout Boystown, home to one of the largest LGBTQ+ communities in the Midwest. The chaos continued into Monday morning, with videos of people clashing with the police being posted on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter).

Videos show police throwing members of the crowd to the ground, shoving people, and people running away from the scene.

Police also said “of the known arrests, at least two people were taken into custody for gun possession.”

The police blocked off an area of West Belmont which usually hosts all-night Pride after parties. Rather than people dancing and socializing, the street was “bumper to bumper” with Chicago police vehicles. Residential side streets, however, were filled with people celebrating the last night of Pride.

Chicago’s Pride Parade and its afterparty have led to between 46 and 52 arrests each year between 2013 and 2015, according to CWB Chicago records. There were 25 arrests last year, including 21 adults and four juveniles.

Local Alderman Bennett Lawson addressed the chaos in a statement to The Chicago Sun-Times on Monday Night.

“The Pride Parade yesterday was a safe and wonderful celebration of our diverse LGBTQ+ community, and it was such a joy to see so many people come out to show their support in the fight for equality,” Bennett said. “Following the Parade’s conclusion, I was extremely disappointed to see disruptive actions in our neighborhood into the early morning hours. I am grateful to the Chicago Police Department for their quick and decisive action to limit any damage and keep people safe, and to the Streets and Sanitation Department for their great work to clean our neighborhood.”

“I look forward to meeting with city departments and stakeholders in the coming days to discuss how we can continue to improve the Parade for participants, attendees and neighbors, and prevent these disturbing actions from occurring in the future,” Lawson said.

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