For the second time this weekend, an LGBTQ+ occasion was focused by men whom regulation enforcement described as linked to a hate group.
The Alameda County Sheriff’s Office in California stated Sunday that it has opened a hate crime investigation into the Saturday afternoon disruption at San Lorenzo Library, about 25 miles southeast of San Francisco.
The workplace stated in a press release that 5 men whom witnesses described as members of the Proud Boys disrupted an version of “Drag Queen Story Hour,” an LGBTQ+ schooling franchise for kids and households that began in San Francisco in 2015.
The workplace added that the men wore clothes and logos that had been according to the Proud Boys, a white nationalist group linked to the January 6 violent siege on the U.S. Capitol.
The men, it stated, shouted “homophobic and transphobic slurs at the event organizer,” in keeping with the assertion from sheriff’s Lt. Ray Kelly.
“The men were described as extremely aggressive with a threatening violent demeanor causing people to fear for their safety,” he stated.
No arrests had been made on the scene, Kelly stated.
The one-hour occasion Saturday was scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m., with Drag Queen Story Hour performer Panda Dulce billed as its on-site chief. “We will hear stories, sing songs, and have fun,” the library’s promotion stated.
It stated that the hour can be curated for preschool-age youngsters, however that older youngsters had been welcome.
Organizers say on their website that “DQSH captures the imagination and play of the gender fluidity of childhood and gives kids glamorous, positive, and unabashedly queer role models.”
In a press release, Drag Queen Story Hour decried what it described as conservative politicians who’ve made a problem out of the existence of LGBTQ+ individuals, notably trans individuals, to foment division and incite violence.
The chronology of the assertion means that Drag Queen Story Hour believes the alleged agitators Saturday had been following the lead of those leaders and would-be officeholders.
The group of purported Proud Boys, organizers stated, “claims to ‘protect children,” but “loves to disrupt children’s events with homophobia and transphobic slurs.”
The nonprofit stated the men had been “yelling, screaming, inciting violent threats, [and] traumatizing children and their families.”
The Alameda County Library, of which the San Lorenzo location is a satellite tv for pc, stated in a press release that the incident wouldn’t deter its mission of inclusive schooling.
“Attempts to intimidate and silence others are not tolerated in libraries,” it stated. “We are grateful to Panda Dulce for showing bravery and resilience and finishing the Storytime event. We will continue to celebrate Pride Month and offer programming that reflects the diverse voices and experiences of all our communities.”
Kelly of the sheriff’s workplace stated its investigation would additionally probe the potential “annoying and harassing of children.”
News of the disruption got here a day after 31 individuals believed to be related to the white nationalist group Patriot Front had been arrested close to an occasion referred to as Pride within the Park in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.
Police stated the suspects, many discovered inside a U-Haul shifting truck, had been booked on suspicion of conspiracy to riot. Among these jailed was a person with the identical identify as Patriot Front’s Texas-based founder, Thomas Ryan Rousseau.
On Sunday the group GLAAD additionally blamed conservative marketing campaign rhetoric and laws for the presence of far-right agitators on the Pride Month occasion in Idaho.
“Anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and the nearly 250 anti-LGBTQ bills introduced this year are responsible for this dangerous climate,” President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis stated in a press release.
On Sunday, Ellis responded to the Drag Queen Story Hour disruption by e mail.
“Storming a children’s story hour is reprehensible,” she stated. “No child, family or person should ever be subjected to this inexcusable and hostile behavior. This rhetoric and incitement of violence against drag performers, LGBTQ people and allies can be directly attributed to politicians and their enablers spreading misinformation and vile rhetoric and must stop immediately.”
In 2019 an occasion referred to as Drag Queen Storytime impressed nationwide headlines when protesters amassed throughout its hourlong studying at a Chula Vista, Calif., library.
In early 2020, “Saturday Night Live” spoofed the controversy with host RuPaul performing as a number reader at a San Diego-area library.
“Reading is throwing shade,” RuPaul stated, ” — a brutal insult wrapped inside a glorious wordplay.”
NBC News and “Saturday Night Live” are each entities of NBCUniversal Media.
