San Francisco District Attorney Charges 18 Arrested at Pride Block Party
San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins is charging 18 people arrested at an unpermitted block party during Pride weekend.
Video footage from the event shows police in riot gear storming the Stud Alley block party on June 27 in a chaotic scene that led to 20 arrests. Everyone who was arrested was cited and released the same night.
On Wednesday, the district attorney’s office announced that 18 people were charged with unlawful assembly, failure to disperse and resisting and obstructing an officer. They were set to be arraigned on Thursday, July 23, at the Hall of Justice.
The charges come after public scrutiny over the police response at Stud Alley over Pride weekend, as well as arrests made following the Trans March in San Francisco the day prior. Supervisor Jackie Fielder has since submitted two letters of inquiry to Mayor Daniel Lurie and law enforcement officials about what advocates said was an aggressive crackdown this year.
“I was deeply concerned to see video footage and reports of San Francisco police officers clashing with San Francisco residents and visitors participating in Pride activities in two separate incidents: Trans March and an event known as ‘Stud Alley,’” Fielder’s memo said.
Stud Alley has taken place for six years in the South of Market neighborhood during Pride weekend. The event drew hundreds last year, as well as some criticism from neighbors, but police monitored the party then rather than shutting it down or making arrests at the scene.
This year, around 11 p.m. on June 27, police arrived at what they said was an unsanctioned block party on Kissling Street, where around 300 people had gathered. Officers ordered attendees and a DJ performing at the event to clear the area, and two adults resisted.
Shortly after, some people reconvened on another block on Washburn Street, where officers declared another unlawful assembly. At the second dispersal order, 18 people were arrested. Police said two vehicles and barricades were vandalized, and there was graffiti.
The encounter came just one day after police also arrested five people in the Tenderloin, following the Trans March. In a statement, SFPD said they were responding to vandalism complaints that day, and that one individual assaulted and sprayed paint on a person.
The response has drawn criticism and renewed concerns from the city’s transgender community and allies.
“We were appalled by the behavior of SFPD at the end of the march,” a letter from Rainbow Families Action, a group of families and parents of transgender children, said. “All hell broke loose around us. A large pack of police officers came charging past us, weapons drawn and with a terrifying enough urgency that one officer fell … We were terrified. Our kids were terrified.”
Organizers of the Trans March met with Lurie earlier this month to discuss the response that led to four arrests.
“We are committed to cooperative efforts to ensure our LGBTQ+ community members can safely participate in Trans March and other Pride celebrations,” Charles Lutvak, a spokesperson for the mayor, said in a statement at the time. “We invited trans community leaders and city leaders to City Hall today to initiate a series of conversations that will take us toward safety and visibility for our transgender community in San Francisco.”