More Than a Dozen Abortion Activists Arrested at Men’s Pro-Life Demonstration in Boston: ‘Extremely Riotous’

More than a dozen pro-abortion activists were arrested at a peaceful men’s pro-life demonstration in Boston, Massachusetts, on Saturday for allegedly acting in an “unlawful, riotous, and tumultuous manner,” according to police.

Fourteen people were arrested, “most or all” of whom were pro-abortion counter-protesters at the The National Men’s March to Abolish Abortion and Rally for Personhood, the Boston Globe reported, citing police.

Those arrested were identified as Julia Coughlin, 26; Jennifer Adams, 22; Joseph McDonald, 26; Gary Ervin, 28; Aiden Burke, 24; Charles McDonald, 21; Laurel Clapp Fox, 25; Sofia Rose, 24; Mitchell Lawson, 27; Meiya Sparks Lin, 24; Waylon Linn Adams, 22; Lakes Levine, 18; Bailey Olmstead, 26; and Christopher Jacques, 40.

They are facing charges of disorderly conduct and disturbing a public assembly. 

The National Men’s March to Abolish Abortion and Rally for Personhood was a city-permitted demonstration that began outside of Planned Parenthood on Commonwealth Avenue at 11:00 a.m. The group marched for more than three miles to Parkman Bandstand in the Boston Common for a rally, according to Boston.com. 

Police reported that several hundred pro-abortion counter-protesters — some of them dressed as clowns — blocked the path of the pro-life demonstrators at Kenmore Square. 

“Upon the convergence, each group was screaming/shouting at each other and the opposing (blocking group) at times turning their rage at officers by threatening them, screaming fighting words, and attempting to agitate them,” the police report said.

Police said they repeatedly told counter-protesters to allow the men’s march to continue along their route. 

“The crowd refused all orders and continued their tumultuous behavior,” the report said.

Officers even tried to “physically attempt to move” the pro-abortion protesters out of the way, but they resisted, police said. 

“This unruly crowd began pushing back at officers, elevating their disorderly and unlawful activity to assaultive,” the report said. “This created an extremely hazardous and offensive condition for officers and the individuals of the Men’s Rights Group who were attempting to pass by.”

According to the police report, officers eventually were able to “gain enough control to allow the march to proceed through Kenmore Square and towards their destination.” 

Officials said the people who were arrested “refused to peacefully disperse, they were extremely riotous and tumultuously assembled, and their behavior created such a hazardous and offensive condition for citizens.”

Police employed barricades at some points to keep the groups apart, the Globe reported. However, some pro-abortion activists tried to remove a barrier, “prompting a police officer to leap over a fence and confront them,” the report states. Several activists yelled “our bodies, our choice” and rattled the barricades.

According to the Boston Herald, some people behind the counter-protest smeared the pro-life group as an out-of-state organization “that thinks men don’t have enough of a say in women’s reproductive autonomy, so they’ve organized a dreary, men-only funeral march to protest access to abortion.”

“The Men’s March is not welcome here, and we will not allow their narrative to go uncontested,” counter-protesters said.

The Men’s March website states that “evil triumphs when good people do nothing,” and calls to “get men off the sidelines and active in protecting and defending vulnerable women and children.” 

“We have a bunch of very angry people and others who are literally dressed as clowns calling us nazis and fascists. Very interesting. It’s sad to see people so upside down in their perception of reality, but if not for the grace of God go I,” march co-founder Jim Havens said during the opening rally speech.

Havens continued:

And this is actually one of the reasons we do this public march and rally – so we can help those who are indoctrinated by the propaganda of evil, we can help them to come out of their ideological bubble and have an experience of real people who stand on the side of what is truly good and beautiful and stand against the ongoing, daily mass murder of our littlest brothers and sisters. The evil ideology they have fallen for is one that is in favor of murdering innocent children. We stand for truly loving innocent children, and their moms, and their dads, and everyone else, including those who have a problem with that.

“We are not your enemies, and you are not our enemies,” Haven continued, adding that they should “not let those who are pushing and profiting off this evil ideology, off of innocent bloodshed, to pit us against each other.”

“Let’s unite in true, authentic love for all and stand together and push forward to the end of this ongoing, daily mass murder and exploitation of the most vulnerable. It’s not too late to throw down your personas of silliness and hate. And begin the serious work of true love,” he said.

“To those who have fallen for the lie, we love you and you’re not alone. Many who are here now standing for love and against this evil, once fell for the lie of abortion too. We welcome you to join us with open arms,” he said. “There is healing and community and love for you here that can help you move forward into new life.”