Oregon Pride march canceled after organizers say police wouldn’t protect eventgoers

Organizers of a Pride march in Oregon have canceled the event, citing concerns about violence, distrust of police, and what they described as a lack of support from law enforcement.Organizers of a Pride march in Oregon canceled amid concerns about violence and a lack of support from police.Eugene/Springfield Pride organizers announced a rally and march originally scheduled for Saturday will not go forward, though the group’s festival at the Lane Events Center will proceed.Organizers said they canceled the rally and march partly because of hate groups that appeared at last year’s event, but also because they said police made clear that officers might not protect marchers unless Pride obtained a parade permit.“After last year’s issues with aggressive hate groups during the rally, we applied for and received a Downtown Program Fund grant from the City of Eugene to support the event with fencing, gated entry and the ability to better control an environment where tensions can quickly escalate. Our intention was to host a street fair with stage programming, including activist speakers and entertainment,” the Eugene Pride Team said in a statement.“Pride was told on Monday by a liaison with [the Eugene Police Department] that should we not file a parade permit, EPD may not direct resources to support the march, and that if anything happened, it would be on us. They stated that any of our volunteers that were in the street could be viewed by EPD as engaging in disorderly conduct. This, despite the fact that EPD has provided traffic control for at least four unpermitted marches in Eugene this year, including a Charlie Kirk rally and march.”Tensions between Eugene police and Pride organizers have escalated in recent months. The Pride team pointed to an anti-ICE protest in February during which protesters were arrested. President Donald Trump later criticized police on social media for not acting more forcefully and called the protesters “insurrectionists,” CB