The “extremely riotous” counter-protesters at the anti-abortion “Men’s March” over the weekend were reportedly told several times to disperse and stop blocking the permitted march before cops started making numerous arrests, according to the Boston Police report.
A march against abortion rights — which billed itself as an event to “abolish abortion and rally for personhood” — started outside of a Planned Parenthood in Boston and drew counter-protesters clad in clown gear.
The counter-protesters — called the “Clown March… to greet them with a joyful display of resistance” — marched to Kenmore Square, where they blocked the path of the permitted “Men’s March.”
“Upon the convergence, each group was screaming/shouting at each other and the opposing (blocking group) at times turning their rage at officers by threatening them, screaming fighting words, and attempting to agitate them,” the Boston Police report reads.
“It should be noted that these officers at the scene were tasked with protecting the First Amendment Rights of all, maintaining order, protecting the lives of the individuals from all sides, as well as arresting any violators,” the police report states.
After some time, the counter-protesters were ordered by the police incident commander to stop blocking the path of the permitted march.
“Superintendent Cahill ordered the large group several times to end their unlawful, riotous, tumultuous assembly,” the police report reads, later stating, “The crowd refused all orders and continued their tumultuous behavior.”
Cops began to try to physically move the crowd off the street, and clear a safe path for the march.
“This unruly crowd collectively began pushing back at officers, elevating their disorderly and unlawful activity to assaultive,” the police report reads. “This crowd created an extremely hazardous and offensive condition for officers and the individuals of the Men’s Rights Group who were attempting to pass by. After an exhaustive effort, Officers were able to eventually gain enough control to allow the march to proceed through Kenmore Square and towards their destination.
“Despite exploring and attempting all non-arrest efforts, officers made several arrests,” the report states. “Those arrested individuals refused to peacefully disperse, they were extremely riotous and tumultuously assembled, and their behavior created such a hazardous and offensive condition for citizens, the peacefully assembled, and police officers alike, that non-arrest methods applied to the majority could not be applied to them.”
Boston Police released the names, ages and residences of the 17 people arrested:
Abortion is a flashpoint political topic in the United States.
Requests for long-term birth control and permanent sterilizations have surged across the nation since Donald Trump won a second term in the White House, according to The Associated Press.
Companies that sell emergency contraception and abortion pills say they’re seeing significant spikes in requests from people who are stockpiling the medications — one saw a 966% increase in sales of emergency contraception from the week before in the 60 hours after the election.
Although anti-abortion advocates are pressing Trump for more restrictions on abortion pills, it’s unclear what — if much — will be done regarding access to contraceptives of any kind during the second Trump administration.
Trump told a Pittsburgh television station in May that he was open to supporting regulations on contraception.
But after media reports on the interview, he wrote on his social media platform Truth Social that he “has never and will never” advocate for restricting birth control and other contraceptives.
Materials from the Associated Press were used in this report.
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