Support pours in after hate group protests Grove City Pride
GROVE CITY, Ohio (WCMH) -- The Grove City community is showing love wins over hate.
On Saturday, a group attempted to disrupt the Pride in GC festival by chanting hateful slurs at attendees.
Pride in GC leaders said this did not stop them from hosting its biggest Pride festival yet.
Organization and city leaders said the biggest takeaway from what happened is that the Grove City community will not stand for hate.
Watch: Support pours in after hate group protests Grove City Pride
“Love prevailed and hate went away,” said Grove City Council Member Melissa Anderson.
In the video from Saturday's PrideFest, masked protesters wearing swastikas chant hateful slurs at attendees.
“Festival goers were able to continue on with their way, continue the day, have a good time,” said Anderson, who was at the event.
She said she is thankful for the response from Grove City Police, saying officers responded immediately to keep people safe.
In body camera footage from Grove City Police at the festival, an officer can be heard reassuring attendees that everything will be OK.
“Unfortunately, they have the right to say whatever they want to say no matter how hateful it is, but like I said, the more people that come and give them the attention, that's what they want,” the officer said.
Police said the disruption lasted about 20 minutes.
In the video, attendees can be seen physically blocking the protesters with umbrellas.
“The support from the community is incredible,” Anderson said. “It really shows that we are a community that is accepting and doesn't stand for hate."
Pride in GC’s board released the following statement:
“We, the board of Pride in GC, would like to address the display of hate that showed up at our annual PrideFest this weekend. We are an organization that is centered around love and acceptance. On Saturday, we had the biggest PrideFest yet. We had an amazing kids area, painting pumpkins, and making bracelets. We had a band, a DJ, food trucks, and all the resources you could ask for! We had 3 members of Grove City council stop by, in support of us.
We also had a group that showed up trying to silence us, and send us back into the closet. They did not stop us. Our organization is centered around love, community, and acceptance. We won’t be stopped from doing just that.
We would like to thank the community, our members, our volunteers, and our allies who stood up to the display of hate. We would like to thank Grove City City Council and the mayor for their statement. Also, we would like to greatly thank GCPD for their fast response in being present at the festival and ensuring our safety. We are overwhelmed with joy from the outpouring of support of donations from the community!
I encourage you to join us. Become a member of Pride in GC. The money we raise from memberships goes to the planning of events for our members. Please consider joining us and saying no to acts of hate! Love always wins!”
Pride in GC said this will not stop the group from holding PrideFest again next year.