New York’s Queer Liberation March Ends In Violent Clash With Police

LGBTQ advocates offered a scathing rebuke of the New York City Police Department after a peaceful protest ended in a violent standoff on Sunday, the day originally intended for the city’s Pride parade.

According to the Reclaim Pride Coalition, the Queer Liberation March for Black Lives and Against Police Brutality drew roughly 50,000 demonstrators. Participants gathered in Manhattan’s Foley Square before heading uptown past the Stonewall Inn and into Washington Square Park.

Tensions erupted, however, once the protesters reached the final stop on the trek, where a rally was held. 

Widely circulated video footage appears to show law enforcement officers aggressively shoving many of the demonstrators and at least one officer using pepper spray. 

According to NBC New York, the NYPD confirmed that three protesters had been arrested for assault on officers. The department said police’s use of force and pepper-spraying of protesters transpired only after someone resisted arrest after being caught vandalizing a police vehicle.  

HuffPost has reached out to the NYPD for comment.  

The footage infuriated many advocacy groups, who pointed to the fact that the apparent standoff took place some 51 years after the 1969 Stonewall uprising, historically seen as the start of the modern LGBTQ rights movement. 

“In 1969, LGBTQ people rose up and resisted police brutality at Stonewall. In 2020, we saw this anniversary met with more violence and oppression,” Human Rights Campaign President Alphonso David tweeted. “We need a radical transformation of policing NOW.” 

GLAAD wrote: “That this happened at all, let alone on the anniversary of Stonewall, an uprising against police brutality, defies common sense and basic humanity.” 

New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson condemned the police violence in the clips as “incredibly disturbing,” adding, “We need a full investigation into what happened today.” 

The Queer Liberation March for Black Lives and Against Police Brutality was one of a handful of events being held on days previously reserved for traditional LGBTQ Pride celebrations in the U.S. before the coronavirus became a global pandemic.

With parades canceled and nightlife venues closed due to the virus, many LGBTQ advocates have expressed hope that Pride ― criticized in recent years for relying too heavily on corporate sponsors ― would return to its roots as a protest for social justice.