Two men from a Baptist church in Roseburg were arrested by Salem police officers Saturday, June 13, after refusing to leave a Pride event where they held large signs calling for people to “repent.” Officers arrested the Roseburg men for criminal trespassing, a misdemeanor, and released them t he same day with a citation, according to police spokesman Sgt. Jon Hardy. Mason Goodknight, 51, and Ryan Clark, 49, traveled to Salem for “outreach” from the church they both attend – Reformed Baptist Church of Douglas County, according to their Facebook accounts. The church, which practices conservative Christianity, lists Clark as a pastor and Goodknight as an evangelist on its website. The two men, along with around six others, attended the Salem Capital Pride event, an annual celebration of the local LGBTQ+ community, according to a statement by Salem police. Ahead of Saturday’s parade and block party, which is historically organized by Salem Capital Pride, president Mathew Oldfield said it’s an event which gets community members excited to gather and celebrate together.  “It’s just a really great chance for them to know that they’re surrounded by community,” he said last week. Salem’s Pride Parade to celebrate past, present LGBTQ+ community Around 1:30 p.m. Saturday, police learned of the group Goodknight and Clark were part of, and that they were interfering with the Pride event, a statement by the Salem Police Department said. Hardy said he didn’t know who contacted law enforcement or how the disturbance was called in. Organizers with Capital Pride had permits for the downtown event, granting them “authority over access” to the area, police said.  Oldfield said, to his understanding, the permit allowed them to ask people to leave the space and call for enforcement if someone refused.  In a video livestreamed to social media by Goodknight, the group can be seen carrying signs reading religious messages and also a large cross, calling for people to “believe” and “repent.” At least twice, a Salem police officer told Goodknight that organizers had a permit for the area and that if he refused to leave, he would be arrested for trespassing, the video shows. During one of the conversations, the officer is joined by one of the event organizers who continues to tell Goodknight to leave. The video captures around 26 minutes of Goodknight and others speaking with police and people at the event, before officers arrest him for trespassing. He and Clark, the other man arrested, were processed at the Salem police station downtown and released the same day of the event. They both received citations for criminal trespassing and have future court dates, according to Hardy. More than three years ago, Goodknight was dismissed from his job as a corrections deputy for the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office after he refused to list people as transgender, the News-Review reported at the time. Despite the arrests, Oldfield, with Capital Pride, said the event was a success and that people enjoyed the food and entertainment, which included drag performances, lemonade, hot dogs and mocktails. More than 3,500 people attended this year’s parade and block party, according to initial counts, Oldfield said. The Pride organization won’t comment further on the arrests, said Oldfield. He said they followed the permit process, and that Salem police officers “did their job.” Contact reporter Madeleine Moore: [email protected]. SIGN UP: “I love and respect what Salem Reporter does for our community.” Salem Reporter covers the people, issues, and stories shaping our city. Stay connected to Salem. Subscribe today. The post Two Roseburg men arrested, released after disrupting Salem Pride event appeared first on Salem Reporter. ...read more read less