Haldimand investigating protester conduct at Pride event

Haldimand County is investigating after close to a dozen protesters stormed a Pride event in Dunnville, carrying signs and shouting hateful, homophobic messages at attendees through a megaphone.

The county confirmed it received two written complaints from event attendees about the conduct of protesters who showed up at Haldimand-Norfolk Pride Day in Central Park on Saturday.

“These are being investigated to determine what actions the county may take and any measures that might be put in place for subsequent events,” Sheila Wilson, manager of community development and partnerships, said in an emailed statement.

Dunnville resident Joe DaRocha filed complaints with Haldimand County and the Office of the Independent Police Review Director (OIPRD) after attending the event with his family. He said he felt compelled to take action because of what he viewed to be hatred and violence perpetuated in a public park in front of the community.

“I have never seen or been involved in a situation where the hatred was so blatant and so in-your-face as it was that day,” DaRocha said. “I can’t really talk about it to most people without choking up because it was frightening.”

DaRocha said about 20 minutes after things got underway, between eight and 10 protesters tried to block the event stage, displaying large signs.

He said he believed some of the threats made by protesters about the LGTBQ and Muslim communities should be classified as hate speech, and action should have been taken by police.

“I sat back thinking other people will do something ... but I thought what happens if nobody says anything,” DaRocha said. “What happens if everybody just says, ‘Oh well, maybe next year it will be better.’”

In his complaint to the municipality, DaRocha requested a public apology to the LGBTQ community, a commitment to prevent this from happening again and a statement indicating the municipality’s support of the local LGBTQ community. DaRocha also alleged in his OIPRD complaint that he witnessed altercations between protesters and event attendees, as well as one incident in which he said an OPP officer “roughly” handled a man holding a Pride flag.

OPP Const. Rod LeClair said in an email that officers were called after between 15 and 20 protesters showed up in Central Park with a megaphone, video cameras and placards, and were yelling at attendees.

“The protesters were in the area to convey their message and disapproval of the event,” he wrote. “No criminal activity occurred and the protesters left prior to the conclusion of the event.”

LeClair said there was an allegation of an assault, but officers concluded one did not occur after investigating. He did not specify who the alleged assault involved.

He did not address questions about the alleged interaction between an officer and a man with a Pride flag ,or whether statements shouted at the event constituted hate speech.

“The OPP supports initiatives that promote diversity, inclusion, awareness and acceptance of all citizens in the province of Ontario,” he wrote.

While there were a couple of protesters at last year’s event, including pastor Jesse Morrell from Texas, Wilson said their presence was not “disruptive” in a crowd of approximately 300 people, so there was no indication they would pose a challenge this year. It’s not clear where this year’s protesters were from or whether they were affiliated with any organizations.