Teenager Arrested Following Pride Death Threats

A 19 year old man from Cumbria has been arrested following online threats to kill people at a Pride event with a machete.

The young man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was arrested by Cumbria Police after posting threatening messages on a Facebook page for a Cumbria Pride event that was being held at the New Empire pub.

'I'm going to walk in with a fucking machete and slaughter every one of the gay bastards.' He wrote on the events post, along with a photograph of the weapon he had purchased.

'I've had enough. I don't want to live in a gay world and I sure as hell don't want my children living in one. What happened to our traditional qualities? They're fucking ruined.

'I don't care if I die, I'm fighting for what I believe in and that's the future of my country, my folk and my race.'

The manager of the New Empire pub told the press that they did consider cancelling the event, however, after discussions with attendees and staff decided to go forward with the plans.

'We asked customers in the pub if they wanted to stay or leave and they all said no. We felt safe as armed police were parked outside. We had lots of phone calls and massages of support but obviously, some people stayed away.' They told news outlet Pink News.

'We are very proud to support the LGBT community and will not be deterred by any of this.'

The man was arrested shortly before the event, with Cumbria Police Superintendent Mark Pannone releasing a statement to reassure the public and the attendees of the event.

'I can confirm that following further inquiries it was determined that it would be appropriate for the investigation to be led by the North West Counter Terrorism Unit. We will support them, as required, with their ongoing investigation.

'Public safety is our absolute priority which was why we acted quickly last night to protect the community, and arrested a 19-year-old man from Barrow.

'I can reassure the community that we have robust procedures in place to respond to reports of of serious activity and we will continue to work closely with our local communities to help keep Cumbria safe.

'Over the last few weeks we have increased patrols in our neighborhoods and at local events to prioritise the safety of the public and would ask people to continue to be alert and report any suspicious activity to the police.

'There is no place for hate crime in Cumbria, it will not be tolerated.'


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Sources:
Pink News Gay Star News The Mirror

Chicago Dyke March Bans Jewish Pride Flag, Ejects Participants

The Chicago Dyke March, part of the larger Chicago Pride events happening in the city this month, has faced controversy and condemnation as it has banned participants from carrying Jewish Star of David flags at their event.

Local LGBT+ newspaper, Windy City Times, reported that three people were asked to leave the celebration after flying the flags.

The Windy City Times wrote;

However, also asked to leave by Collective members of the Dyke March were three people carrying Jewish Pride flags (rainbow flags with the Star of David in the middle).

According to one of the individuals - A Wider Bridge Midwest Manager Laurel Grauer - she and her friends were approached a number of times at the park because they were holding the flag.

'It was a flag from my congregation which celebrates my queer, Jewish identity which I have done for over a decade marching in the Dyke March with the same flag,' she told Windy City Times.

She added that she lost count of the number of people that who harassed her.

One Dyke March collective member asked by Windy City Times for a response, said the women were told to leave because the flags 'made people feel unsafe', that the march was 'anti-Zionist' and 'pro-Palestinian'.

'They were telling me to leave because my flag was a trigger to people that found it offensive,' Grauer said. 'Prior to this I had never been harassed or asked to leave and I had always carried the flag with me.'

The Dyke March is billed as a more inclusive event, one that has a stronger focus on social justice issues that larger Pride events. More than 1,500 people participated in this years march.

The American Jewish Committee condemned the actions and called for others to do so too, to speak up against the decision to eject Jewish LGBT+ people. American Jewish Committee Chicago Director Amy Stoken said, 'In the heart of our city one of the most blatant incidents of anti-Semetism took place at the Dyke March. Where is the collective outrage over this despicable targeting of Jews?'

Dyke March did release a statement about the matter on their social media, which read;

Yesterday, June 24, Chicago Dyke March was held in the La Villita neighborhood to express support for undocumented, refugee and immigrant communities under threat of deportation. Sadly our celebration of dyke, queer and trans solidarity was partially overshadowed by our decision to ask three individuals carrying Israeli flags superimposed on rainbow flags to leave the rally. 

This decision was made after they repeatedly expressed their support for Zionism during conversations with Chicago Dyke March Collective members. We have since learnt that one of these individuals is a regional director for A Wider Bridge, an organisation with connections to the Israeli state and right-wing pro-Islam interest groups.

A Wider Bridge has been protested for provocative actions at other LGBTQ events and has been condemned by numerous organisations for using Israel's supposed 'LGBTQ tolerance' to pinkwash the violent occupation of Palestine.

The Chicago Dyke March Collective is explicitly not anti-Semetic, we are anti-Zionist. The Chicago Dyke March Collective supports the liberation of Palestine and all oppressed people everywhere.

From Palestine to Mexico, border walls have to go!

In January 2016, a Shabbat service being held for Jewish participants of a gay activism conference in Chicago, was protested by hundreds of people.

Protesters entered the conference area chanting 'Hey hey, ho ho, pinkwashing has to go', eventually taking over the stage and preventing visitors from being able to speak at the event.

Pinkwashing is the term used to describe the alleged efforts by the Israel government to cover up treatment of Palestinians by celebrating its record on gay rights.

Views on events on social media such as Facebook and Twitter seem to be divided, with some members of the LGBT+ community supporting the Dyke March's decision to remove members of the Jewish community from the event, whilst others have condemned it as an act of anti-semetism.


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Sources:
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Everything Left Episode 15 - Coalition of Chaos

In this episode I'm joined by Adi Anhang as we discuss the results of the UK election, terror attacks, a racist mother and the Grenfell disaster.

Twitter: @_EverythingLeft
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Everything Left Episode 14 - Cannibal Murder Pope

In this episode I'm joined by Pete Gaskell and Adi Anhang as we discuss Trump's visit to the Middle East, the horrors of the Manchester bomb attack, the UK General Election and the upcoming Wonder Woman film.

Twitter: @_EverythingLeft
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Everything Left is a Trans-Scribe Production
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Theresa May Meets With Anti-LGBT+ Church In Run Up To General Election

On Sunday Prime Minister Theresa May visited London's Jesus House church, a part of the Redeemed Christian Church of God movement, which has a long history of anti-LGBT+ conduct.

May, who has a record of voting against LGBT+ rights, described the visit as 'fantastic' and the church as 'one of the most lively growing churches in the UK'.

Jesus House has publicly expressed extremist views on sexuality, marriage equality and abortion rights, even going so far as to liking homosexuality and transgenderism to bestiality. Their website even included a section dedicated to anti-abortion propaganda.

The church has also been accused to have links to gay conversion therapy and and to have allegedly performed exorcisms on gay people.

Whilst this 'fantastic' visit itself is troubling when added to the news this week that a Tory candidate has stood by her choice to accept an intern from a Christian hate group that advocated gay conversion therapy it begins to paint a worrying picture of the Conservative Party less than two weeks before the election.


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Sources:
The Independent Premier Pink News