LGBTQ group protests at home of Hamilton mayor, arrest made

City and police accused of being slow to react to presence of hate groups

HAMILTON— Advocates in Hamilton are calling for the city’s mayor and police force to apologize and make amends with the LGBTQ community amid escalating tensions following a violent disturbance at a Pride event and a protest at the mayor’s house.

LGBTQ leaders and groups in the Ontario city have criticized the police response to an altercation between attendees and two anti-Pride groups at an event earlier this month, which has led to five arrests over the past two weeks.

On Friday, police said they arrested a 33-year-old woman after demonstrators showed up at Mayor Fred Eisenberger’s house that morning with signs that read, “Mayor doesn’t care about Queer People.”

Police said about 20 protesters arrived at about 7:15 a.m., banging on Eisenberger’s door and making a disturbance for about 15 minutes.

They said they’ve laid numerous charges against the woman, including theft under $5,000, criminal harassment and mischief, and she was not granted bail. Cameron Kroetsch, an LGBTQ advocate, said there’s a “real contradiction” in the way police handled each case.

“People showed up with a violent intention (at the Pride event) and those folks could have been arrested right then and there at Gage Park,” he said in a phone interview Saturday.

“It sends a very unclear and chilling message to people when arrests are made very quickly in some instances and not in others.”

Kroetsch is Pride Hamilton’s secretary and treasurer, but said he was speaking on behalf of another group, Hamilton Queers Against Hate. Hamilton police spokesperson Jackie Penman said the difference in the timing of arrests for both incidents was due to the number of victims and witnesses who came forward and their level of co-operation.

She said the mayor came forward as a victim and there were multiple co-operative witnesses that immediately identified themselves to police — which she said was not the case for the Pride incident.

Video of Friday’s protest that was posted on social media, including on Eisenberger’s own Twitter account, shows demonstrators shouting and playing instruments.

“This morning, my family and I were awoken to over 20 agitators at my home, yelling profanities, leaving signs on my lawn and banging on my door,” Eisenberger wrote on Twitter.

The mayor has faced criticism for being reserved in his actions and words regarding what Kroetsch has said is the continuous presence of hate groups in the city.

“I don’t know what to make of the priorities of our city,” said Kroetsch.

Pride Hamilton issued a statement following the Gage Park altercation, stating there have been “long-standing issues” between the city’s LGBTQ community and police that remain unresolved.

The police force said in its own statement that it understands the “public’s frustration” with the investigation into what it called “a complex case.”

“My family and I were awoken to over 20 agitators at my home, yelling profanities, leaving signs on my lawn and banging on my door.” FRED EISENBERG HAMILTON MAYOR