The protesters who call themselves "Shaddu Al-Dhamir" and pro-Palestinian activists demanded the resignation of the executive director of Montreal Pride, an organization they accuse of supporting the Palestinian genocide, also claiming that the Montreal police assaulted some of their members and criticized the media for ignoring these alleged assaults.

A press conference was held by representatives from Dream Montreal, Initiative, and Independent Jewish Voices in Montreal (IJV), and the Solidarity Against Genocide faction (FAGS) on Tuesday morning under a tent displaying both the "Inclusive Bisexual Pride Flag" and the Palestinian flag in the Village area of Montreal.

Mariam Al-Manai from the Initiative group said, "We are here in Tytia, known as Montreal, to set the record straight regarding what has been reported in the mainstream media about what happened during Pride Week and during the parade." representing Arabic-speaking LGBTQ+ individuals.

Mariam Al-Manai was referring to the pro-Palestinian protesters who disrupted the Montreal Pride march on August 11, leading to police intervention.

The longest blockade lasted for about an hour, according to Rebecca Lafoui, the spokesperson for FAGS, the main group that interrupted the parade.

In this context, Lafoui criticized Pepsi, the owner of Bubly, for its support of Israel, saying: "We stood in front of the sparkling water float Bubly and the Montreal Pride band."

These groups accuse "Montreal Pride" of sponsoring many "Zionist" companies and organizations.

The groups wrote in a statement: "The FAGS band was subjected to severe brutality by the police. The SPVM (Service de police de la Ville de Montréal) physically assaulted the protesters, destroyed the signs, and issued threats."

To support their claims, the four groups provided the media with images they say depict "acts of brutality by the police," according to Rebecca Lafoui.

Some of the shared images show a tense standoff between the protesters and the police during the parade, although none of them appear to clearly depict acts of brutality.

In one of the five images, an officer is seen holding what appears to be a canister of pepper spray, and the Montreal police had not responded to the activists' allegations by the time of publication.

The groups said at the press conference that they had spent several months in discussions with Montreal Pride, urging the organization to sever ties with "Zionist sponsors and festival participants," but their demands were rejected.

According to Dream Montreal, Initiative, Independent Jewish Voices in Montreal (IJV), and the Solidarity Against Genocide faction (FAGS), "the only real concern for Pride was to protect their image and sponsors, rather than amplifying the voices of 2SLGBTQIA+ communities to ensure their representation." Inclusion and recognition of their rights in society."

The groups are now demanding "a public apology from Montreal Pride for deploying violent police officers against us," and the resignation of the executive director of Montreal Pride, Simon Gamache.