My husband, Sidewalk Steve, and I attended Keene Pride on September 21, 2025, along with members of Democrats for an Informed Approach to Gender (DIAG). We carried signs and handed out pamphlets to educate attendees about the serious harms of medical transition for children and to educate Democrats that gender ideology is “Not science. Not medicine. Not liberal.”
Soon after we arrived, we were informed by the Keene Police that we could not be inside the reserved festival area. We retreated to a position outside the festival and started conversations with passersby. We had some good conversations, and the peacekeepers, trained by NH Peace Action, did what they always do, which is interrupt conversations and try to prevent us from educating anyone.
Late in the afternoon, my husband got into a heated discussion with a woman about the serious harms of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones for gender nonconforming children. While they were talking, a peacekeeper intervened to try to end the conversation. I was taking a video of the peacekeeper and not paying attention to the discussion. Out of the blue and unprovoked, the woman he was talking to shoved me really hard, hard enough to knock me to the ground.
Fortunately, I was able to stay on my feet, but my shoulder hurt. I reported it to the police at the scene, and I recorded testimony from bystanders who agreed that she shoved me unprovoked. The perpetrator told the police I was blocking her. The video recorded on my husband’s GoPro, below, shows that she had a clear path away from me in multiple directions, and the shove was hard and unprovoked.
A couple of days later, I emailed the videos of the incident to the Keene Police officer who took my report. However, nothing happened until January 2026, when I called the Keene Police and spoke to Lieutenant Benjamin Nugent. I sent him the videos, and that finally started an investigation. A few days ago, I received the police report, and I learned that the Keene Police had decided not to prosecute the woman who shoved me, Jennifer O’Neill of Claremont, NH.
Reading the report, the police took the word of Ms. O’Neill and Peacekeeper Emily Benson that I was the aggressor. They said that I was blocking Jennifer’s path, and she had to push me out of the way to get by. The Keene Police ignored the video evidence that clearly shows that Jennifer was the aggressor and that she shoved me hard for no reason.
There is no explanation for their actions except that the Keene Police, who I assume are heavily influenced by the staff and students of very woke Keene State College, refuse to protect the First Amendment rights of people whose political beliefs they do not support.
Related: Nashua Mayor Jim Donchess Despises the First Amendment
Watch more videos of our conversations at Keene Pride below.
