Cincinnati police protect Pride weekend festivities

One of the largest Pride celebrations in Greater Cincinnati kicked off Friday night, with hundreds of people coming to the Queen City to take part in a downtown festival that culminated in a massive parade Saturday. This comes a month after the FBI and Department of Homeland Security issued a public service announcement to raise awareness of potential attacks on LGBTQ events. “That’s the number one priority here, making sure everyone feels safe and comfortable,” said Jake Hitch of Cincinnati Pride. Hitch said it’s always important to have partnerships like this when hosting a large event or festival like this. “So, yes, we work with CPD. We work very closely with them. We have a couple of dedicated officers. I think we’ve outsourced as well,” Hitch said. Cincinnati has been hosting public Pride events since 1973. Safety has always been a priority at Pride across the country, but some say this year there are additional concerns about a war thousands of miles away.Ethan Felson is the executive director of a group called A Wider Bridge. He said this year there are people who want to use Pride events to talk about the war in Gaza. “Someone should be able to walk in a Pride parade wearing a hijab or a keffiyeh or a yamaka or wearing a Jewish Star of David and carrying a Palestinian or Israeli flag. We should be able to show up as who we really are,” Felson said.