The San Francisco Pride weekend is in full swing, but a few violent incidents, including a shooting near an entrance in the Castro District, vandalism, and two cases where State Senator Scott Wiener said he was “harassed, threated and intimidated” are bringing concerns.
That violence is catching the attention of millions of people on social media, on a weekend when the world’s eyes are on the Bay Area for Pride and World Cup.
One of those incidents was posted on social media. The viral video shows a crowd during Friday’s Trans March shouting at State Senator and Congressional Candidate Scott Wiener, eventually chasing him away.
After having a day to process what happened, Wiener said he felt “harassed, threatened and intimidated.”
“But when folks are basically swarming around you, getting really close, and then touching you, and just trying to drive you out of the park physically, that’s not okay. That crosses a line,” he said.
Wiener says some people were actually getting physical with him, and for the first time in 22 years, he left the march because he didn’t feel safe.
“Which makes me really sad, because it’s the first Trans March I’ve ever missed since it started in 2004, but it would not have been safe for me or for my team,” he said.
Wiener says he and his staff were also accosted in a separate incident while attending a World Cup watch party Wednesday night in the Mission District.
“A guy who had previously harassed me, in a very antisemitic way, sort of cornered me, and blocked me and was getting very close to me and being very aggressive,” he said.
On Friday’s, the incident that occurred during the Trans March left to San Francisco police officers injured and five people under arrest.
SFPD released a statement, which in part read: “The SFPD always respects individuals First Amendment rights to protest; however, criminal activity will not be tolerated in San Francisco.”
Pride participants told NBC Bay Area they’re aware of what happened, but not too worried.
“You can’t, and that kind of violence and threat of intimidation because if you stay away because you’re afraid something might happen they’ve already won,” San Francisco resident Sister Roma said.
“I love being here. I love seeing everybody, seeing everybody happy. This is what pride is about. It’s just about the beauty of being in community and just being together with people and feeling that love,” ally Jason said.
Wiener agrees with them and SFPD.
He says he respects everyone’s rights to disagree and voice their own political views, but he says too often, people are crossing the line into harassment, intimidation and bullying.
“We need to fight them, and stick up for each other, and that’s what Pride is about. It’s about celebrating the community and recommitting to the fight ahead,” he said.
The main Pride weekend event, the San Francisco Pride Parade and Celebration, will be held Sunday morning. Wiener said he will be there.