Over fifty people arrested, nine of them minors in violent rioting after Pride Parade

CHICAGO, IL - Mass arrests followed the violent outcome of the Chicago Pride Parade on Monday. Chicago Police took 14 people, five of them teenagers, into custody and they are reportedly being charged with felonies. The violent incidents reportedly began 10 to 11 hours after the Pride Parade officially ended.

As reported by ABC7 WLS, an overall total of 53 people were arrested with nine juveniles among them on a variety of lesser offenses, one of whom had an outstanding warrant already. The outlet reported that four firearms were confiscated. 

Speaking to the Chicago Sun-Times, Alderman Bennett Lawson issued a statement describing the event's descent into a lawless riot. He wrote, "The Pride Parade yesterday was a safe and wonderful celebration of our diverse LGBTQ+ community, and it was such a joy to see so many people come out to show their support in the fight for equality.

“Following the Parade’s conclusion, I was extremely disappointed to see disruptive actions in our neighborhood into the early morning hours. I am grateful to the Chicago Police Department for their quick and decisive action to limit any damage and keep people safe, and to the Streets and Sanitation Department for their great work to clean our neighborhood.

“I look forward to meeting with city departments and stakeholders in the coming days to discuss how we can continue to improve the Parade for participants, attendees and neighbors, and prevent these disturbing actions from occurring in the future.”
 

More than 50 arrests were made in connection to this post-parade activity, including felony arrests for aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, aggravated battery against a police officer, aggravated assault of a transit employee, and armed habitual criminal.

— Chicago Police (@Chicago_Police) July 1, 2024

 
With a lengthy thread posted to X, The Chicago Police said in part, "Following the parade and into the night, officers had objects thrown at them and multiple officers were injured while working to keep the area safe. Our officers, who exhibited great restraint and patience, recovered four firearms while responding to these crowds. More than 50 arrests were made in connection to this post-parade activity, including felony arrests for aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, aggravated battery against a police officer, aggravated assault of a transit employee, and armed habitual criminal."

Chicago Police told ABC7 that 24 individuals were charged with misdemeanors including "reckless conduct, battery, assault, resisting or obstructing an officer, and criminal damage to property."

The youngest offender was a 14-year-old male charged with aggravated battery on a transit employee. Another minor male, aged 15 was charged with unlawful use of a weapon by a person under 21 along with possession of a laser sight and a suppressor.