Violent protestors threw flash bombs, rocks & glass bottles at Pride marchers

Protestors in Bialystok, Poland burned a rainbow flag during the city's first Pride.
Protestors in Bialystok, Poland burned a rainbow flag during the city's first Pride. Photo: Piotr Fijalkowski

Violent far-right protestors attacked a Pride parade with flash bombs, rocks, and glass bottles.

The city of Bialystok, Poland, was having its first Pride celebration on Saturday, and an estimated 1000 supporters marched. But over 4000 far-right counter-protestors showed up, shouting slogans like “God, honor, and motherland” and “Bialystok free of perverts.”

The counter-protestors threw objects at the Pride marchers.

Related: ‘LGBT-FREE ZONE’ stickers for businesses will be distributed in Poland

Piotr Fijalkowski posted video of counter-protestors destroying a Pride flag and attacking police officers.

Reuters reports that there were several videos taken of counter-protestors attacking Pride marchers. CNN saw several people removing make-up and hiding rainbow flags in an attempt to safely leave the city.

25 counter-protestors were arrested by police, who used tear gas and pepper spray to disperse the crowd.

“I am trying to see this in a joyful way, but this march is also sad for me because I did not think it would be as dangerous as it is,” Pride marcher Anna Pietrucha, 26, told CNN.

“We are in the middle of an ongoing wave of hateful propaganda, which is fueled by both the state and the Catholic Church,” said Hubert Sobecki of the LGBTQ organization Love Does Not Exclude.

Earlier this month, 30 cities in Poland declared themselves “Free of LGBT ideology.”

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