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A man was arrested on Saturday afternoon after disrupting the London Pride event, police said.
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It was about 2:15 p.m. when police said officers responded to a 911 call about a major disturbance at Wortley Road and Dukes Avenue, where an event that coincides with London Pride Week (although officers say it’s not formally part of a whole town celebration) was held in Wortley Village. Police released a few more details.
“There was a big physical fight in the area. When police arrived, a man was taken into police custody on several criminal charges. . . he was not part of the celebrations,” the police said in a statement.
The investigation is ongoing and police are asking anyone with information or video of the incident to contact them at 519-661-5670 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.
It’s been an ugly few months in Southwestern Ontario in terms of anti-LGBTQ incidents. In Norwich, a small town south of Woodstock, pride flags were stolen and a Tillsonburg man, Jake Day, was charged. Day then gave a 30-minute address to a meeting of Norwich City Council, during which he compared the Pride movement to Nazi Germany.
Around 100 local citizens attended the last council meeting last week and demanded the resignation of the mayor for allowing the remarks. Mayor Larry Martin refused to resign.
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Saturday’s event seemed to draw a large crowd to the Wortley Village green. Stephen D’Amelio, vice president of the Pride London Festival, noted that Wortley’s gathering was not formally part of their events, which are scheduled to continue until the final parade next Sunday.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This story has been updated to reflect that the Wortley Village Pride event is not officially part of the wider Pride London Festival.
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