Members of the Detroit Police Department are being criticized for accompanying a group of self-described Nazis over the weekend at the city’s Pride parade.

Activists reacted in alarm on Saturday after being informed that the Nazi group had been given a permit to protest at the Pride event. According to The Detroit News, police were assigned “to keep the protesters and attendees apart as they marched through the festival.”

After videos of the Nazi march circulated on social media, activists criticized the police for not taking a stand. Others pointed out that the officers were only following orders.

If you think these disruptions are isolated to America, think again. In Europe, and specifically two countries that has direct violent history with Nazis, lgbt observed Pride with the usual exuberance. In the shadows neo-Nazi thugs, came out of the shadows to disrupted Pride marches in Budapest, Hungary, and Czestochowa, Poland. Police intervened on the side of the LGBT marchers in Budapest but on the side of the Nazis in Czestochowa.

On July 9, more than 10,000 people attended the 23rd annual Pride event in the Hungarian capital, but they soon found their path blocked by a group of black-clad men holding banners.

The men, apparently members of the Betyársereg, or ‘Army of Outlaws,’ a paramilitary group associated with the far-right political group Sixty-Four Counties Youth Movement.

People in the parade peacefully chanted at the men, while some played musical instruments and waved rainbow flags. The riot police were deployed between the Pride marchers and the neo-Nazis. Some people on the ground reported feeling threatened by the police presence until they realized they were there to remove the neo-Nazi group.

Later, Eurovision winner Conchita Wurst performed at the Budapest Pride closing party. She congratulated the parade participants for showing courage during the incident.

‘It is very important to me to be here today, the rights of the LGBTIQ community are not where they should be,’ Wurst said to the crowd during her performance.

‘The people who went to Pride and were on the verge of being attacked by right-wing demonstrators showed great courage, and I want to highlight this situation.’

In Poland, however, things went much differently.

About 1,000 people with rainbow flags and umbrellas marched on the Catholic Jasna Gora shrine in the city of Czestochowa, where the country’s notoriously anti-LGBT prime minister was giving a speech.

A few dozen neo-Nazis blocked the route, carrying banners with homophobic messages. The neo-Nazis chanted ‘National Czestochowa.’

They were joined by police, who prevented the LGBT march from going forward.

After the march, Poland’s internal affairs minister instructed the police to prosecute the LGBT marchers, accusing them of ‘desecrating’ the White Eagle, Poland’s national symbol, by placing it on a rainbow shield instead of the traditional red one.

Government Minister Joachim Brudzinski also charged the LGBT marchers with provoking the neo-Nazis, whom he characterized as innocent pilgrims on their way to the Jasna Gora shrine. ‘The policemen reacted and, in this case, charges will be pressed for contempt and desecration of the national symbols. That’s the Polish police is so trusted among Polish people [sic],’ he wrote.

If the marchers are prosecuted for desecrating the national symbol, they face up to a year in prison. Recently, the frontman of Polish metal band Behemoth was formally charged by Polish authorities for desecrating the symbol in tour artwork and merchandise.

According to Rémy Bonny, a political scientist specializing in LGBT politics in post-communist countries, the threat of prosecution may have a partisan subtext.

‘One of the biggest opposition leaders in Poland is openly gay and is especially popular amongst young people,’ Bonny said. ‘A vibrant gay scene emerged in the bigger Polish cities as well in the last decade.’

Across the globe, the right wing has motivated those filled with self-hate to lash out at others who are simply expressing pride and love for themselves, their identity and their loved ones. Yes free speech should be protected, but is hate responsible for six million deaths free speech?

A recent attempt to disrupt a trans pride parade in Seattle was obverted. After a call to action of supporters was pushed through out the Seattle area. More than ever, with right wing nut jobs, it’s our duty in our community to be vigilant, safe but to never back down. Continue living with PRIDE!