Eugene Springfield Pride announced the night of June 21 that the annual Pride rally and march has been canceled due to safety concerns. The Pride Festival at Lane Events Center is not canceled.

During the 2025 rally in downtown Eugene, anti-queer protesters disrupted the event, which the organizers sought to keep safe and inclusive. 

In an interview, Brooks McLain, a previous Eugene Pride president, says that hateful disruptions had a negative impact on the 2025 march and rally. “This year we applied for a downtown program grant, so that we could fence off Kesey Square, have a block party, have gated entry, so that we could control the environment,” he says. 

The public statement notes that the organization did not apply for a permit for the downtown march as many organizers, community members and activists say they are wary of the Eugene Police Department.

  “Tensions between queer people and police have always existed, as the police work to uphold a white supremacist standards and queer existence is actively pushed against that,” says Juniper MacAoidh, who has previously volunteered for Eugene Pride and is serving as an art vendor for the 2026 festival. 

MacAoidh says via text that, “The Eugene Police Department has historically allowed and engaged in direct violence against our community, and I believe Eugene Pride is correct to distance themselves from police collaboration.” 

MacAoidh adds, “I hope to see an unaffiliated march arise from these circumstances and may it grow bigger with each year.”

Organizers say that the Pride march and rally have been ongoing since 2018, and the festival itself has been held in Eugene for the last 33 years — taking place in Alton Baker Park in August until last year. 

Since safety could not be guaranteed at the event, the Pride organization team decided to cancel the march and rally and focus on keeping the 13,000 attendees safe at the Lane Events Center, according to a publicly posted statement from Pride. 

In the statement organizers explain that an EPD liaison told Pride on Monday that if the organization did not secure a permit, EPD could not guarantee direct support for the march or safety of marchers. 

The statement further notes that the EPD has provided traffic control for four unpermitted marches within Eugene in the past year, including a rally that followed Charlie Kirk’s death. 

In a statement to the Weekly, EPD spokesperson Melinda McLaughlin explains that certain permits are required by the city to ensure that appropriate safety measures are in place for risk reduction. The city cannot guarantee the safety of all participants for an unpermitted event, therefore creating “gaps” which put participants at risk.

 McLaughlin states, “When events move forward without permits, it limits our ability to provide the planning, staffing, and protections that help keep people safe. EPD discussed these concerns with organizers, including applicable laws designed to ensure safety for both the group and the community. Our goal is always the safest possible outcome.”

Pride points to reasons queer folks distrust local law enforcement — alleging that the Department of Homeland Security has gone after transgender activists, specifically at the January Federal Building protests that EPD declared a riot, where according to eye witness accounts, transgender women were “specifically targeted for arrest.” 

Pride also cites that queer and trans activists have been “repeatedly targeted by EPD for using amplified sound at protests on public property,” and argue that there is a “double standard in treatment.” 

The Downtown Program Fund grant of $4,500 is in the process of being returned to the city now that the rally has been canceled. 

“When we’re protesting, we’re cited and told to stop using amplified sounds by the Eugene Police Department, so there seems to be two sets of rules, depending on what it is you’re protesting,” McLain says, contrasting this to right-wing and anti-queer protesters who have frequented the Eugene Saturday Market, who have used amplified sound. 

Activists and organizers say they were unwilling to permit the march under these circumstances because it would require collaboration with EPD.

“I do want to emphasize that Pride is still happening,” McLain says, in reference to the Eugene Springfield Pride Festival, which is still scheduled for 11 am to 7 pm Saturday, June 27 at the Lane Events Center.