Canadian Sports Show Host Says Anti-Gay 'Street Preachers' Assaulted Him, Broke His Leg

A Canadian radio sports show host tried to intervene when a group of "street preachers" loudly gave voice to anti-LGBTQ rhetoric in a Vancouver neighborhood. He is now in the hospital with a broken leg and "mangled" knee, reports local newspaper the Vancouver Sun.

Justin Morissette, a host with "Sportsnet 650," took to Twitter to share his side of events, posting: "I stood up to anti-gay evangelical bullies in the West End this evening, and they purposefully broke my leg for the trouble."

I stood up to anti-gay evangelical bullies in the West End this evening, and they purposefully broke my leg for the trouble. I don't know why I did this. It felt like the right thing to do and no one else would. I'm going to have metal plates in my leg for the rest of my life.– Justin Morissette ???????? (@JustinMoris) August 23, 2020

Added Morissette: "It felt like the right thing to do and no one else would. I'm going to have metal plates in my leg for the rest of my life."

In subsequent posts, Morissette went on to say: "I'm only tweeting about this because there have been too many instances of unchecked racism and during the pandemic, videos of people spewing hate while everyone just sits there and ignores it."

Posting that his leg is "super fucked up, and that sucks," Morissette speculated that "the violent man who did this to me would have done it, or possibly much worse to someone else down the line had he not been arrested tonight."

Adding that "I am in excruciating pain and my knee is incredibly mangled," Morissette explained, "But I would feel worse if I knew I saw that and just went home and minded my own business.

"Don't let the bastards win."

Canadian site Global News reported that someone claiming to be named Dorre Love, and saying he was with the anti-LGBTQ "street preachers," also took to social media, posting that he was "preaching the gospel" when Morissette assaulted him, but he was the one who got arrested.

In his account, Morissette said that he had asked the group to turn down the volume on their loudspeaker, and they had refused; he then attempted to turn down the volume himself and was prevented from doing so; and finally, he resorted to snatching the microphone away from one of the men, who then, Morissette said, grabbed him in a headlock, twisted him, and snapped his leg bones before throwing him down into the street.

Respondents on Twitter said that the group has been a disruptive and unwelcome presence in the neighborhood for much of the summer, and the police refused to intervene despite numerous noise complaints.

Reported one Twitter user: "West End residents have called @VancouverPD all summer to report an aggressive anti-gay group – and nothing has been done.

"This group scares and intimidates citizens in their own community."

West End residents have called @VancouverPD all summer to report an aggressive anti-gay group – and nothing has been done. This group scares and intimidates citizens in their own community.

Last night, @JustinMoris stood up to them + in turn, they broke his leg. Hero shit. #YVR https://t.co/RAwfK1VIm7– Alexis Sheridan (@alexisroyston) August 23, 2020

The user went on to add: "I have had friends who *this summer* feel fearful to walk specific blocks because of these hateful, violent, predatory individuals."

Morissette's roommate, J.D. Burke, told the media, " The last time these absolute cretins came to ruin a perfectly good weeknight, it dragged on for well over an hour, upset many people in our community and he just wasn't prepared to let that happen" again.

Morissette's brother, Kevin Morissette, has set up a GoFundMe page to help cover the costs that Justin Morissette now faces after his refusal to back down. "In the coming months, Justin will be faced with medical bills, a loss of income, legal fees, rent, and living costs," the page explains.

"The location of their preaching was not unplanned given the historic LGBTQIA2s+ history of Vancouver's west end," text at the GoFundMe page says.

British Columbia lawmaker Spencer Chandra Herbert took note of the group's having violated noise ordinances and breaking hate speech laws, and said, ""When you spread hate and you target lesbian, gay, bi and transgender people in the West End, or no matter what community, people won't stand for it."

The media reported that Herbert has asked Vancouver police when they intend to enforce those laws. Meanwhile, two of the "street preachers" have been arrested and face criminal assault charges.