Scott Wiener Chased From Trans March by Anti-Israel Hecklers
Gay congressional candidate Scott Wiener was harassed by a mob at San Francisco's Trans March over his views on Israel and housing.
Gay congressional candidate Scott Wiener was confronted and pursued by a group of attendees at San Francisco’s Trans March, who denounced the state senator over his support for Israel’s continued existence — as part of a two-state solution — and his pro-housing development policies.
Video filmed on June 26 by Dimitry Yakoushkin — who, according to his posts on X, identifies as “queer” — shows Wiener being confronted at the annual rally for transgender rights.
“Scott, I think your legislation on trans issues, and specifically, your legislation, specifically, protecting queers on the sex offender registry (sic) is fantastic. Like, I really applaud you for that,” Yakoushkin says as Wiener begins walking away from the march.
“And I think you deserve to be here for that. But I think your housing policy, and specifically, your housing policy aligning with YIMBYs, and I think your policy on the genocide in Gaza is terrible. I think you do not belong here! I think you do not belong here! You do not belong here, Scott, anymore!”
At the same time, a group of other attendees comes over and begins screaming, calling Wiener, who is Jewish, a “motherfucking genocidal piece of shit” and telling him, “We fucking hate you!” while flipping him off. (As a state senator, Wiener has no authority over U.S. military aid to Israel.)
“It sucks, because you’ve been wonderful, you’ve been wonderful for trans people, and you’ve been terrible, you’ve been terrible on Gaza,” Yakoushkin continues, ranting. “How could you do this to San Francisco? I want to support someone who’s so positive on trans rights, but you’re a piece of shit on Gaza.”
Wiener, who placed first in the top-two primary to replace Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi in California’s 11th Congressional District, told The New York Times that the protesters never shoved or grabbed him, but did touch him multiple times. He said he ultimately decided to leave because he believed remaining at the march could endanger him and his staff, noting that it was the first time he had not participated in the event since it began in 2004.
“They were sort of surrounding me, not preventing me from walking, but following along, screaming, and saying horrible, vile, false things about my quote-unquote ‘Israeli handlers,'” he said.
Wiener has previously said that Israel’s military campaign in Gaza — following its response to Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack on Israel — has risen to the level of “genocide.” In an interview with Metro Weekly, he also said he opposes providing Israel with offensive weapons as part of U.S. military aid.
It’s not enough for critics, who claim Wiener’s shift in position is politically motivated rather than genuine, pointing to earlier moments in his campaign when he declined to describe the conflict in Gaza as a genocide. Other left-wing activists argue that his support for a two-state solution and Israel’s continued existence remains incompatible with their belief that Israel is an illegitimate colonial state.
Wiener, who faces San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan in the general election, has long been outspoken in support of transgender rights — a stance that has seen him smeared as a “groomer” online and earned him death threats from right-wing extremists. But that has not insulated him from criticism on the left, including from some attendees at the Trans March.
The 49-year-old Yakoushkin told the Times he did not view the confrontation as harassment, describing his actions and those of the other hecklers as constituents engaging with an elected official.
“It’s unfortunate that he feels, like, physically intimidated by his constituents,” Yakoushkin said. “If that’s the case, you should probably look for a different job.”
“I have no objection whatsoever to anyone disagreeing with me, opposing me, or protesting me,” Wiener said in a statement addressing the viral video. “All of that is core to democracy…. But when opposition and disagreement transition to harassment, including cornering me, touching me, or trying to physically bully me out of a public event, that crosses a line.
“We’re living in a time when violence is all too often threatened or used against people in public life. In San Francisco, we’re better than that.”
“No politician is perfect, but I really believe it is a mistake for the trans community to slam the door on anybody who wants to stand with us in this particular moment,” transgender journalist Ari Drennen wrote in a post on X.
“Scott Wiener changed his position from being an ardent supporter of Israel to being a vocal critic, including calling what’s happening in Gaza a genocide,” Alejandra Caraballo, a civil rights attorney and clinical instructor at the Harvard Law School Cyberlaw Clinic, wrote on Bluesky. “He did so while being one of the trans community’s most steadfast supporters. Pushing him out of the Trans March is not a good thing to do.”
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