Rad Pride, a radical LGBTQ+ rights march, was held in the Village on Saturday night. There were reports of damage to businesses and two arrests.
Rad Pride, which began Saturday at 9 p.m. near the Papineau metro station, was intended to be a reappropriation of Pride in Montreal as an “anti-capitalist, anti-colonial and anti-fascist” political mobilization, according to the Facebook page of the event organized by the P!NK BLOC MTL collective.
On the eve of the official Pride parade, Rad Pride took the form of a demonstration rather than a parade.
Two people aged 26 and 29 were arrested for assault on a police officer and armed assault on a police officer, according to the Montreal Police Department (SPVM). Both were released on a promise to appear.
In a message to The Pressthe P!NK BLOC MTL collective claimed that “police attacked the front of the Pride march brutally and without provocation” on Saturday night. “This police violence led to a spontaneous reaction from the community,” it added.
The windows of some businesses were also smashed, including that of real estate agent Younes El Moustir, located on rue Sainte-Catherine.
PHOTO TAKEN FROM A FACEBOOK POST BY YOUNES EL MOUSTIR
Younes El Moustir’s window was smashed during the demonstration.
“I am very shocked today by the absence of our elected officials in the face of an event like this which targets businesses,” said the broker, who says he is the victim of vandalism every two months.
The shopkeeper deplores the “inaction of the police” to prevent misdeeds during the demonstration. “We are letting the neighborhood die before our eyes,” he added.
An investigation is underway to find the perpetrators of the misdeeds. No citizens were injured during the demonstration, according to the SPVM.