State Sen. Scott Wiener came under a torrent of harassment Friday while participating in San Francisco’s Trans March, which he said forced him to leave the event.

A video posted on X on Friday evening showed Wiener walking through a portion of Dolores Park while being accosted by several protesters who began loudly criticizing him for having “been terrible on Gaza,” referring to the now nearly three-year armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and Israel.

“You do not belong here anymore, Scott. And it breaks my f—ing heart,” the videographer can be heard yelling at Wiener, accompanied by several other protesters yelling curses at him. “It breaks my heart that someone who wrote good legislation for queers is so f—ing terrible on Gaza.”

The video appears to have been taken by Dimitry Yakoushkin, a local sex and relationship therapist.

Along with the video, Yakoushkin posted criticism of Wiener, accusing him of being a “tax-break-for-the-wealthy, pro-genocide Log Cabin Republican.”

On Saturday, Wiener released a statement saying he had been “harassed, threatened, and physically intimidated” while walking through Dolores Park to participate in a trans-led Pride Shabbat service related to the Trans March.

“A group of people began screaming at me, ran up to me, surrounded me, and began harassing me, both verbally and physically, including physical contact,” he said. He went on to say that he left after it became “impossible for me to safely remain in the park,” and that the incident ultimately prevented him from participating in the march for the first time since it began 22 years ago. The march started in 2004 after an anonymous email called for a rally to increase the visibility of transgender people, build solidarity across a spectrum of gender identities and protest anti-trans violence and discrimination. 

Attendees of the Trans March have a history of loudly rejecting politicians they dislike. In 2016, Wiener, then a supervisor, was booed while trying to speak at the event. And last year, Mayor Daniel Lurie left the park after attendees began booing him while he was walking through the park and mingling with participants.

Wiener also said he’d been harassed Wednesday night while watching a World Cup game in the Mission District, where a man confronted him and “screamed abuse” at him and his staff before the man was ejected by the bar’s security. 

Wiener went on to say that while he had “no objection” to people disagreeing with him, public harassment and intimidation or bullying “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,” he said.

Wiener, the leading contender to replace Sen. Nancy Pelosi, has faced public scorn for his political views. The same man who he said accosted him while he was watching the World Cup game recorded a similar video of him at an airport in Arizona in 2023.

Wiener also faced tough criticism earlier this year during a debate with other office seekers vying to replace Pelosi when he refused to call the war in Gaza a “genocide.” He reversed his position a week later, releasing a video in which he said the “Israeli government has tried to destroy Gaza and to push Palestinians out, and that qualifies as genocide.”  

His initial refusal to call Israel’s actions genocidal led to criticism from his progressive opponents, while his reversal days later led to an outcry from supporters of Israel, prompting him to step down as co-chair of the California Legislative Jewish Caucus.