Steinbach pride cancelled due to threats of violence

Steinbach Pride was cancelled on Saturday after threats of violence were made against the community event.

Steinbach Pride president Chris Plett said a threat was made on Friday evening to a participant that was scheduled to speak that Saturday. The threat was made after the death of U.S. conservative activist Charlie Kirk at a Utah rally on Wednesday. Kirk was against LGBTQ rights.

“We as board members get threats every year, and some of them are quite substantial, but this was more so. It sounded like a threat to everybody there. It was in retaliation to the killing of Charlie Kirk down in the U.S. It definitely heated up the situation we had already. When the event had happened down south – when the killing had happened – our thought immediately went to ‘Will this change anything when it comes to Pride events in Canada?’ and almost the very next day we get our first threat.”

Plett said to protect everyone the decision was made that night to cancel the event.

“The question is, do you willingly put these people at risk, knowingly put these people at risk, or do you protect them? And the answer is you always protect them. So that’s a decision that has to be made. And so we can’t play Russian roulette with threats.”

An RCMP spokesperson said the matter is currently being investigated.

This year’s theme for Pride was community, which organizers chose to bring awareness. They asked Band of Colours, an advocacy and resource organization for LGBTQ people in the Southeast, and Steinbach Neighbors for Community, a resource for families of LGBTQ youth, to present at the event.

“With this situation it’s just so political. You know, like everyone likes to say that queer people are political, but like the way I see it is, me living my life and existing isn’t political. And I feel like this retaliation had nothing to do with Pride. It was all circumstances in the political world and what’s going on today,” said Angelica Brunger, executive director of Band of Colours.

Trevor Kirczenow, who was scheduled to perform at the event with his violin, said what happened at Steinbach Pride is having an effect on a LGBTQ event he is planning for December.

“I feel that this has hit me harder in a way…it feels to me like that event is even more needed. And also, like a little more daunting to feel like, how am I going to plan this to make sure that everyone is safe?”

The Manitoba Pride Alliance issued a comment on social media on Saturday where it stated that the cancellation is “a reflection of rising hate that threatens the safety and dignity of marginalized communities across our province and country.”

“No one should have to choose between visibility and personal safety. The fact that extremist violence has escalated to the point of silencing a peaceful celebration of love and inclusion is deeply alarming,” it stated.

Plett said the incident is an indication that Steinbach still has a long way to go for inclusivity within the community. He said there are a number of churches that support the LGBTQ community but that Steinbach is a very right leaning religious city.

“There are definitely some groups out there that like to use that as an excuse to spread hatred and anger towards people in the LGBTQI community, and that’s terribly unfortunate. And it’s not just those, but there’s a lot of people with a lot of really strong opinions that involve hatred,” he said.

Steinbach Deputy Mayor Michael Zwaagstra said Steinbach is a tolerant community and that he’s opposed to any threats and any violence. “Every group should be able to hold events peacefully and should be able to organize,” he said.

Plett noted a new position has been created on the board that will address security and safety for future Pride events.

“But for the people that think that that is now the way to (get Pride cancelled), trust me, there’s multiple, multiple ways of closing that issue have come up, and we will be using those in the future. So, for the people that think that that’s how to do it, sorry, that threat has been managed.”

Next year, Steinbach Pride will celebrate 10 years and Plett said it will be bigger, better, and safer than previous years.