Gay rights activist Fred Sargeant was reportedly assaulted at an LGBT event in Burlington, Vermont, for holding signs critical of the transgender movement, the 74-year-old French-American activist said Sunday on Facebook.
“So, I went to Pride to protest their misogyny, homophobia, exclusionary policies and divisiveness. I was met by screaming, multiple assaults, ageist comments, shoving, slaps to the back of my head, pouring coffee on me and repeated attempts to steal my signs,” Sergeant wrote on Facebook.
Sargeant said in the post he was carrying a sign that said “Black face, Woman face” with a line through both phrases, presumably signaling opposition to drag queens and biological men presenting as female. (RELATED: Montana Says It Will Disregard Ruling On Transgender Birth Certificates)
“I’m on my way to the ER to get looked at and bandaged,” Sargeant posted to Facebook at 1:59 p.m. Sunday.
Fred Sergeant, a 74-year-old gay rights pioneer who was at the Stonewall riots, & who co-founded the first pride march in NYC, was beaten & robbed by far-left queer & trans activists at the pride event in Burlington, Vt. on Sunday. He held a sign critical of trans ideology. pic.twitter.com/Twyx4fyZeX
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) September 20, 2022
Sargeant was also seen with a sign that said “gay not queer.” Sergeant has criticized the group that put on the parade, the Pride Center of Vermont, for calling the word gay “erasure of the breadth of sexual orientations and gender identities within the LGBTQ+ umbrella.”
“We are appalled by the news that Fred Sargeant — Stonewall veteran and co-founder of Pride — has been beaten and robbed at Burlington Pride, by attendees who take for granted the rights he fought for decades ago,” LGB Alliance, an organization that defends lesbian, gay and bisexual rights “as recognized by biological sex,” said on Twitter of the incident. “We send love and solidarity to Fred and wish him a swift recovery,” the organization continued.
Sargeant co-founded the Gay Pride march in New York City in 1970, and served as the vice-chairman of the Homophile Youth Movement, according to the biography on his website. He also attended the Stonewall riots of 1969.
Burlington police and Fred Sargeant both did not respond to the Daily Caller’s request for confirmation of the incident. The Pride Center of Vermont did not respond to the Caller’s request for comment.