Dan Choi, an American gay rights activist and discharged lieutenant from the Army, was in Moscow to take part in a banned gay pride rally. He was punched by an anti-gay counter-protester then arrested by police along with Andy Thayer and other protesters.
Gay rights and gay pride parades are not welcome as political entities in Russia, and demonstrations in recent years have been met with opposition from communists and religious orthodox followers, violence from ultra-right neo-Nazis and arrests by police.
Several sources captured the mayhem on video and, afterward, Choi recorded a cell phone video inside the paddy wagon saying:
''We were just arrested for protesting the ban on LGBT Pride march demonstration in Moscow. We're in high spirits here. I personally have a slight injury to my right ear and massive ringing at this moment. And the other protestors are speaking of equal rights, discrimination and of the skinhead neo-nazis who punched us and tore our signs. But our morale is high, and our dedication to this cause remains absolute.''
On Choi's Twitter feed, he said he engaged in debate with some of the anti-gay "neo-Nazi" protestors who also seem to have been arrested "for being shirtless." Monday morning, one of Choi's updates said:
''Walking outside, a group gave thumbs up 'Dan Soy!' I guess that's how Choi sounds in Russian? I love you Moscow.''
According to AFP news, a spokesman for the US State Department, Mark Toner, released a statement saying:
''We note with concern... that a peaceable demonstration of Russians advocating for the rights of gays and lesbians, joined by international supporters, was forcefully disrupted by counter-protesters, and that Russian security forces then detained people from both groups.''
