Montrose Pride Attacked at Fourth of July Parade

Photos and Reporting by Aiden McVay

Homophobic slurs, spitting, hurling projectiles, and destruction of property is not normally what you expect at a Fourth of July event but it’s what happened during Montrose Colorado’s Fourth of July Parade.

”I went around the corner, and I heard that first pop and I looked around. That’s when I passed a kid. He spit on and, in my car, and his parents were right there watching him. And I go about maybe 75 feet from that and that’s when I heard the second pop, and I was like oh my gosh it’s happening to my car. Oh, I’m gonna die out here in the parade, how embarrassing,” said Sebastian Sandoval (they, them). Sandoval drove one of the cars in the Montrose Pride’s July 4 parade float. “That’s when I hear it, ‘faggot…You guys don’t belong here,’” said Sandoval.

The pops Sandoval heard were unidentified objects thrown or shot by slingshots hard enough to crack their car’s front windshield, chip the driver’s side window, and dent the rear driver’s side panel.

The support Montrose Pride did receive was seemingly outweighed by the bigotry. “We heard a couple of claps, you know, from people that were supportive, but it was drowned out by all the disgust and hate that we were all receiving,” Sandoval said.

Sandoval wasn’t the only one who had derogatory remarks hurled at them. Witnesses saw a teenager in the procession targeted with f-slur being yelled at him. 

Mellissa McChristian (she, they) witnessed a younger boy, approximately 12-14 years old, flipping off her group in the procession. There were also leaflets designed to look like fake $100 bills, with the words “Stop Being Gay” printed on the inside of them being tossed at the Montrose Pride parade participants. 

Not everything was negative, according to Evelyn Greenman-Baird (she/her), organizer of Montrose Pride. “I will say, though, that we did experience a lot of positivity… literally folks that were in the crowd that were just cheering enthusiastically for us.“ Greenman-Baird said. Greenman-Baird also witnessed people deliberately stop clapping for the Montrose Pride float, she heard someone shout “All lives matter!” as they passed, and a few people questioned why a “gay pride float” was there at a Fourth of July event. 

The incident took place less than a month after Montrose Pride hosted their widely popular first public Pride event on June 8. 

Greenman-Baird wants the message to be positive, she stated, “that this was a successful event. Yeah, there was hate and there was bigotry … But I really believe that this event overall was a powerfully successful event.” She added “The whole city could see our existence and see our authenticity, and see how much we were loved and supported by other members of the community.” She continued, “That’s really what I’m hoping people kind of hold on to. There is still hate and negativity and nasty things in our community. But it’s really changing.”

For many, the positivity was overshadowed by the bigotry that was displayed and continues to be displayed online.

On July 12, the Montrose Daily Press published an article on Facebook where the comments were just as prejudiced.

Bryon Carey commented on MDP’s post, “That’s what they deserve.” In another comment, “Why can’t they be what they are without feeling like they need to flaunt their sickness.”

JD Cougar commented, “Mental illness at its finest.”

There were a few kind comments like that from Chad Jukes, “I don’t know about you, but I fought for this country. I ended up losing a leg defending the rights of the amazing humans who were on the Montrose Pride float. I’m honestly disgusted that anyone would take issue with their presence in the parade.”

The hateful comments and threats continued weeks after the incident. While investigating the incident, this reporter received personal messages from Tye Hess, “Why don’t you just try and be happy and stop fucking with people [,] clearly the town doesn’t agree with it. Who the hell are you?”

On another public Facebook post, Tye Hess continued his tirade: “Your opening statement says this is your town? It may be but it’s ours as well. None of us others who live or have lived in Montrose have opinions just like you. This seems as if you are a small few trying to force your beliefs on other [sic].”      

Multiple reports of the alleged harassment/assault/disorderly conduct were made to the Montrose Police Department about the incident that occurred on July 4, 2024. 

The MPD released this statement: “incidents like this affect us all and are very concerning for our entire community.” Adding, “the Montrose Police Department encourages anyone who witnessed this incident or has information related to this incident to contact the Montrose Police Department at 970-252-5200 or WestCo Dispatch at 970-249-9110.” 

There is a case number, and it is actively being investigated. A source close to the MPD said that the police have the license plate numbers of some of the alleged assailants. 

What is unclear at this point, is whether this incident is being investigated as a ‘bias-motivated crime,’ or not.

Attempts reached out to Chief Deputy Cox, of the Montrose Police Department, to find out whether or not this is being investigated as a bias-motivated crime have not been answered at the time of publication.

A person commits a bias-motivated crime in Colorado when they “Knowingly causes bodily injury to another person” or “By words or conduct, knowingly places another person in fear of imminent lawless action directed at that person or that person’s property” or “Knowingly causes damage to or destruction of the property of another person,” “with the intent to intimidate or harass another person, in whole or in part, because of that person’s actual or perceived race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, physical or mental disability, or sexual orientation” 

Multiple people witnessed these alleged hate crimes that were committed in broad daylight, in front of dozens of people, and in some cases committed by minors in front of their parents.

As of July 22, 2024, the case had not been referred to the Montrose’s District Attorney’s Office.

Much more needs to be done! LGBTQ+ people are just as much a part of the community as anyone else, and deserve to be safe and protected as we all do.

“The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people, but the silence over that by the good people,” Martin Luther King Jr. once said. His words remind us that we cannot sit idly by, we must take a stand. Speak out, join advocacy groups, and do not remain silent. Now is the time for bravery. As Sebastian Sandoval said, “We will not be silenced, and we will not let hate win… Love is love, and we ain’t going nowhere.”

Post-script: Don’t just be outraged, take action. Help Sebastian fix his vehicle damaged in this incident. https://www.gofundme.com/f/restore-sebastians-car-and-show-love?attribution_id=sl%3Ac19bae85-82bb-45b2-943d-894d67cf1a8c&lang=en_US&utm_campaign=fp_sharesheet&utm_medium=customer&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR1DR6efVKsmnNw0gIH_9titDtgE__t7QkwTEyAeekapYYGi5YIpbchW2Wo_aem_Q6F0UTALdSrbvhk2qMUFMg