Pressure is mounting on Hamilton civic leaders and police after a violent homophobic protest at weekend Pride celebrations sparked renewed calls to crack down on hate groups.

Pride Hamilton says local police could have done more to prevent the violence, while agencies dedicated to diversity are calling for a ban on xenophobic rallies outside city hall.

"We think that together we can respond to the rise in this type of activity," Hugh Tye, executive director of the Hamilton Community Legal Clinic, said Monday.

In a joint statement, the legal clinic, John Howard Society and Hamilton Roundable for Poverty Reduction expressed outrage over the Pride violence and urged the city to "implement a zero-tolerance policy" for extremist activity.

On Saturday, radical evangelical protesters crashed the annual celebration for the two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, intersex and asexual community at Gage Park.

A contingent of so-called yellow-vesters, who have held rallies at city hall to protest the federal government's immigration policies, among other things, joined the religious extremists at the park.

Matthew Green, executive director of Hamilton Centre for Civic Inclusion, said the "religious bigots" were flanked by "proto-fascists in combat gear," a marked escalation from previous years.

"It would be akin to the Ku Klux Klan showing up to Caribana and calling everyone there (the N word)."

But the men also came "prepared to fight" and threw "sucker punches" at women and queer folk, said Green, who's also a federal NDP candidate.

On Monday, police said the protesting mob amounted to roughly 25 people, while a group of 10 or so were on hand to counter the homophobic agitators.

Deputy chief Frank Bergen said arrests are "imminent."

In a news release, Pride Hamilton said the celebration was the largest and most successful in Hamilton's history, but marred by "religious leaders from the United States and Canada with the expressed purpose of hatefully disrupting Pride."

In one video clip circulating online, a man wearing a red T-shirt bashes someone in the face with a helmet; in another, a sign-wielding man with a beard slugs a woman in the face.

"The emotional and physical impact of this has been traumatic for many people who were at the site of the protest," Pride Hamilton said in its statement.

A number of Pride supporters carried a large black fabric screen to shield celebrants from the hurtful slogans on signs such as "Jesus Opposes Your Pride Repent" and "Liberal Commies & Homo Fascists Destroying Canada & Our Children."

One witness — who requested anonymity out of fear of reprisals — said the protesters started advancing toward the people holding the screen. "They clearly were gearing for a fight and started attacking people and the things started escalating from there," she said.

In a statement, Pride Hamilton criticized how police responded to the volatile situation. "Upon reflection, we feel that much of what happened yesterday could have been prevented by the Hamilton Police Service."

Organizers said they'd struggled to have police meet with them before the celebration, but nonetheless, spoke with officers Thursday.

"The operational plan discussed on Thursday was not put into place and it took far too long for police to respond to the escalating situation created by the protesters."

Bergen said he wouldn't contradict Pride Hamilton's take on the police response.

"I don't want to be contrary to Pride Hamilton. In fact, I want to work with Pride Hamilton," Bergen said, noting police hope to set up a meeting this week.

However, he added police had "appropriate resources," which were deployed "accordingly" before and after the melee.

Police's aim during potentially violent protests is "quite simply to keep the peace," Bergen said while respecting the right to peaceful assembly.

But safety is paramount, he added. "We do not need people to dispute that and come in for their own interests."

Green said "there was no keeping the peace," adding he couldn't "fathom" how nobody was arrested.

Police spokesperson Jackie Penman said officers had detained one suspect at the park but had to release the person because the victim wouldn't co-operate.

Accounts from witnesses are crucial and so are victims speaking to police, Bergen said. "That's what public trust is all about."

Bergen said Det. Paul Corrigan, the police service's hate crime co-ordinator, is probing the weekend violence along with criminal investigation detectives from the Stoney Creek station.

Police services from other jurisdictions have also been tapped to share their resources, the deputy chief added.

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Pro-diversity and inclusion advocates worry the Pride violence is symptomatic of a rising tide of hate-group activity in Hamilton.

It comes as the city investigates IT staffer Mark Lemire and his neo-Nazi past, and weathers criticism over lack of diversity among police service board members. Moreover, the Hamilton Anti-Racism Resource Centre has been put on "pause" for review.

In response to the weekend violence, Mayor Fred Eisenberger said "hate speech and acts of violence have no place in the City of Hamilton."

"We will be working with Hamilton police and our community partners to discuss what steps we can take together to ensure this never happens again."

But Green, a former municipal politician, took aim at civic leaders for allowing the yellow-vest rallies in front of city hall to fester for months.

The link between white nationalist factions and radical Christians was "never more apparent" than at Gage Park on Saturday.

"I don't think it's hyperbole to say that we are on a trajectory to Charlottesville," Green said, referring to a violent white nationalist rally in Virginia in 2017.

Advocates have spoken to city officials about discrimination for years but seen little concrete action, said Kojo Damptey, manager of programs at the Centre for Civic Inclusion.

"That's why we have this situation where can now have individuals get together as a group or to a festival and incite hate."

Damptey pointed to a recent report called "Mapping the void: Two Spirit and LGBTQ+++ experiences in Hamilton," which showed 51 per cent of respondents had faced discrimination at outdoor spaces, including parks.

Hugh Tye, of the legal clinic, said barring hate groups from public spaces, including outside city hall, "is very doable" while respecting freedom of expression.

Green said "zero-tolerance" policies for bad behaviour in hockey arenas, for instance, should apply to violence in outdoor spaces like Gage Park.

"If this happened in the library, they'd all be arrested."

Police urge witnesses and assault victims to contact the Division 20 criminal investigation division at 905-546-2929.

tmoro@thespec.com

905-526-3264 | @TeviahMoro

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