Dozens of members of the LGBTQIA+ community and their supporters have gathered in Melbourne's south-east after a pride celebration was postponed due to a protest threat.
Police arrested one member of a right-wing group, which was outnumbered by the LGBTQIA+ supporters.
Victoria Police said a man was arrested after failing to move on when asked, while everyone else left the area without incident.
End-of-year pride celebration Glitter Nova — designed for people aged 12 to 25 — was scheduled for Thursday evening at the Victorian Pride Centre in St Kilda.
However, the City of Stonnington released a statement on Thursday afternoon saying the event would be "postponed" after consulting with Victoria Police, Minus18 and the Victorian Pride Centre.
"We have recently become aware of a planned protest at Glitter Nova this evening," the statement reads.
"In order to maintain our commitment to creating safe and inclusive events, we felt the wisest and most-prudent course of action was to postpone the event, in order for us to ensure the safety of our attendees."
The statement said the decision to postpone "in no way legitimises" the statements made by the protest groups.
Council advised a rescheduled date would be announced soon.
Supporters of LGBTQIA+ community gather at Pride Centre
However, drag artist Belial B'Zarr — who was scheduled to perform at the event — came out to the Victorian Pride Centre anyway, along with at least 50 supporters.
He said the sudden cancellation was a "poor choice".
"A lot of the kids may not know what they're walking into if they haven't gotten the information," he said.
"I feel like it is my responsibility to be there."
A Victoria Police spokesperson said officers would run "proactive patrols" of the area to deter any "anti-social behaviour".
Anti-fascist researcher says cancellation could 'embolden' protesters
Anti-fascist researcher Andy Fleming told ABC Radio Melbourne cancelling the event could "embolden" the groups targeting these events.
"If the aim was to prevent an event from taking place, they appear to have done that," he said.
"I think it's probably a good idea for organisers to consider the possibility that it may be subject to these sorts of threats.
"They should take that into account and think about ways they can respond, by ensuring that they have appropriate security in place, or by publicising it and calling upon the community to support these events."
From his analysis of the social media correspondence online, Mr Fleming said the main instigators of this protest appeared to be "neo-Nazis".
Minus18 and the Victorian Pride Centre have been contacted for comment.
