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Eugene Pride March Canceled. Police Refused to Protect Marchers Without a Permit.

Resist Now 3 min read
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Eugene/Springfield Pride Canceled Its 2026 March Over Police Inaction

Eugene/Springfield Pride canceled its rally and march scheduled for June 28, 2026, after organizers said the Eugene Police Department told them officers might not protect marchers from hate groups unless the organization first obtained a parade permit. The group’s festival at the Lane Events Center will proceed as planned.

Organizers pointed to two reasons for the cancellation. First, hate groups appeared at last year’s event and behaved aggressively toward attendees. Second, recent police actions against trans activists in Eugene eroded trust that officers would intervene on marchers’ behalf even if a permit were secured.

“After last year’s issues with aggressive hate groups during the rally, we applied for and received a Downtown Program Fund grant from the City of Eugene to support the event with fencing, gated entry…”

Eugene/Springfield Pride organizers, public statement, June 2026

The grant covered safety infrastructure, but organizers concluded physical barriers were not enough if police would not commit to protecting attendees from groups that have targeted Pride events nationally.

What Police Inaction Means for LGBTQ Public Safety

When police make safety guarantees contingent on permit status, the burden of security shifts from law enforcement to the community being threatened. Organizers are not required to hold a permitted parade to receive police protection from criminal threats. Withholding that protection as use over permitting decisions raises serious civil rights concerns.

Eugene is not alone. Anti-LGBTQ groups have shown up at Pride events across the country, and several cities have seen organizers scale back or cancel events after similar standoffs with local law enforcement. The pattern puts the onus on LGBTQ communities to navigate bureaucratic requirements while facing credible threats of violence.

What You Can Do Now

  1. Call the Eugene City Council at (541) 682-5010. Ask council members to direct the Eugene Police Department to issue a written policy guaranteeing equal protection for all permitted and unpermitted public gatherings, including Pride events. The council’s contact directory is at eugeneor.gov.

  2. Email Eugene Police Chief Chris Skinner at [email protected] and ask for a clear public statement on EPD’s policy for protecting LGBTQ events from hate group activity, with or without a parade permit.

  3. Contact Oregon Governor Tina Kotek’s office at (503) 378-4582. Ask the governor to direct the Oregon Department of Justice to review whether Eugene’s permitting-linked protection standard violates equal protection guarantees under Oregon law.

  4. Document and report. If you witnessed or experienced threats at the 2025 Eugene Pride event, file a report with the Oregon Department of Justice Civil Rights Division at oregon.gov/doj/civil-rights.

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