Portland police talk security measures for Pride parade [Video]

PORTLAND, Maine — Final preparations are underway for Maine’s largest Pride month event. 

Celebrations kick off Saturday with a festival at 1 p.m. and a parade a half-hour later. 

“This really gives people in our community a space to be who they are and to feel accepted,” Bri Lane, chair of Pride Portland, said. “I think it’s a really wonderful thing when Portland is a community that can really encompass everybody.” 

It’s an event Lane and thousands of others look forward to each year. But the mass shootings in Lewiston back in October and recent threats made to local drag queens are raising safety concerns at a time of continued anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric. 

“The Portland Police Department will be out in full force,” Maj. Jason King said. “We always treat …