Thread by @socialistdogmom

good morning from boston.
chants of “we’re here, we’re queer, we’re socialists don’t fuck with us,” dissolve into cheers as a brass band arrives at the corner of the park. 🏳️‍🌈

life goes on in the boston public garden as tourists walk around a small army of cops, a full brass band, a black bloc, and hundreds of antifascist queer people as a helicopter circles overhead. they’ve got swan boat rides to get to.

four people have been arrested, which seems inexplicable to me. the march was proceeding peacefully.

make that six. they’re searching six people before loading them into a box that looks like it’s better suited for animal control. at least half of them are visibly with john brown gun club but don’t appear to be armed.

more arrests. i think it was three people carrying shields. again, this is just a peaceful group of people standing on a sidewalk many blocks away from the actual fascist gathering.

why is an FBI bomb tech watching US when it’s the far right that keeps threatening to blow stuff up?

police just broke through their own barricade and stormed the sidewalk, tackling a group of people standing on the sidewalk, pointing pepper spray at us, and carrying at least three people away. i have no idea why and i was five feet away from them.

they just did it again. i have no idea why. they actually sprayed us this time. thanks to the stranger who yelled my name and grabbed me by the backpack i only got it on my arm and the side of my face.

also a little in my mouth. spicy.

here comes the world’s saddest parade. straight people cannot be trusted with a themed event.

it took less than three minutes for the entire parade to pass me. it was 75% police and police vehicles. sounds about right for a fascist march.

parades usually move very slowly to maximize the amount of time viewers have to enjoy them. this one is moving at a very brisk pace.

i cannot explain this

i’m in line for the bathroom in a coffee shop (mostly to wash the pepper spray off my face) behind two straight pride marchers. feels like a bad sitcom.

this is straight pride. he didn’t even wash his hands.

thank you, comrades

ok

some tension building in the crowd as a confrontation between one protester & several counter protesters seems imminent. cops are lining up behind them & one officer just physically removed a cameraman with press credentials. “if you’re press you gotta leave. that’s an order.”

the protester was escorted out without incident but it really felt like the cop was trying to get the camera out of the area because he thought the police were about to get to attack the crowd.

a guy in a red sox hat who appears to be drunk is yelling about “fuckin’ freedom!” in a thick boston accent. not sure whose side he’s on. his own, mostly.

a police helicopter is hovering low, directly over the holocaust memorial where antifascists are standing.

all the violence i’ve seen has been from the police but i just spoke with a friend who said an antifascist was punched in the head by a fascist earlier.

i’m standing inside the boston holocaust memorial. a line of cops in heavy tactical gear just shoved by me. patriotic music from the fascist rally across the street is barely audible over the police helicopter above me.

haven’t seen cops on the streets in this much gear yet. not sure what they think they’re staging for. i’ve seen mostly BPD & somerville cops all day, but these are staties. they were riding in the buses behind the parade.

vermin supreme drowning out the national anthem 😍

very good to hear this chant let loose in the wild

https://twitter.com/thebigdumbidiot/status/1167066475456188416?s=21

straight pride parade: “the straight pride parade is not a homophobic event!”

also the straight pride parade: “I AM ANTI-GAY!” and screaming F*GGOT at queer people while wearing a “socialism is for f*gs” shirt

one of the organizers for the straight pride parade just tried to start a U-S-A, U-S-A chant but no one in the crowd picked it up 😂

just a reminder if you choose to talk to press at a demo: a lot of fash livestreamers have “press credentials.” a lot of fash adjacent outlets have legitimate sounding names. when in doubt, no comment.

pretty sure enrique tarrio backed out of today’s event. i guess he’s more comfortable threatening antifascists from the comfort of his home.

some fash livestreamer got surrounded and is crying to the cops about it. the woman whose face he got in, setting this all off, is yelling “nobody violated your civil rights, you’re just a corny ass bitch who won’t leave where he’s not wanted!”

the whole crowd is now chanting “your livestream sucks” over his protestations about his free speech

big bagel boss vibes

one of the libertarians with adam kokesh claims he was kicked out of the straight pride event for his rainbow shirt.

not sure why the cops are driving their motorcycles at us again

threatening to run over peaceful demonstrators on a closed street. very good look.

more arrests. not sure why.

they just started beating us with bicycles. there’s nowhere to move because the crowd is too dense. the cop stopped hitting me long enough to tackle the medic standing next to me.

the cop was literally yelling at me to move while standing on my foot and hitting me.

more pepper spray and arrests.

cop just beat me with a bike while i was standing on a sidewalk pinned between a barricade and a cement planter. he hit me until i fell down and then screamed at me to move while making it physically impossible for me to move.

i really fucking hate cops

the big EMS vehicle that has been parked on this corner just pulled away, right as a bunch of people who need medical attention were forced here by the police line. street medics are washing eyes and checking minor injuries.

i have no idea what set them off. it didn’t seem like anything changed in the crowd before the cops lost their fucking minds.

they didn’t even clear the entire counterprotest. there is still a small number if people outside the city hall plaza outside the fash rally. i don’t know why they did this or what the fuck their plan is aside from hurting us.

this portion of the road is still closed. if they force us back past the next intersection, the road is open to traffic.

switching to bandana number 3. that’s two now that have gotten too spicy. (always bring spares - i seal a full change of clothes + spare bandanas in plastic in my bag!)

i guess they gave us ten minutes to tend to our wounded. the police line is advancing on us again.

they’re forcing us backwards into moving traffic

vermin supreme scolding the cops for indiscriminate use of chemical weapons and sucker punching civilians

visiting boston’s historic freedom trail, my face burning from police issue chemical weapons

cops just broke their line and sprinted at someone, tackling them. no idea why. they’re yelling at everyone to leave or they’ll mace us all (again)

they’re aggressively clearing the area, probably so no one can see that at least one of the two people they tackled appears to be injured.

if they’d just left us the fuck alone in the place we’d been standing peacefully for hours, everyone would be fine. now they’re just shoving us from place to place and no one knows why or where the fuck we’re supposed to be.

to my knowledge, no unlawful assembly has been announced. the cops are just attacking us.

hey, thank you to the masked stranger who helped me up when a cop was hitting me while i was pepper sprayed and lying on the ground earlier. antifascists are heroes & we keep us safe 🖤

i’m tired and hungry and sunburnt and covered in pepper spray. cops are still everywhere but most of the crowd has dispersed. i’m outta here.