The LGBTQ+ community and their supporters came together to stop far-right extremists from disrupting Drag Story Hour events in two separate episodes that took place in the US. They used rainbow umbrellas to prevent the violent protesters from storming the event, forming a physical barrier to protect the kids.
On Saturday, February 25, hundreds of supporters and several police officers gathered outside Crazy Aunt Helen’s, an LGBTQ+-owned business in Washington DC, where a Drag Queen Story Hour brunch was taking place. Word had spread on social media that the far-right group Proud Boys were planning on attacking the event, but when they got there, they were met with a counter-protest organised by Parasol Patrol.
The group aims to protect children at LGBTQ+ events and uses rainbow umbrellas to form a physical and visual barrier between them and the people who are causing disruption. They used the same tactic to block the Proud Boys in the US capital, making sure that the event could carry on as planned and that the extremists could not interfere.
A similar episode happened on the following day, when another Drag Queen Story Hour event at the Olney Library, 20 miles north of Washington DC, was targeted by far-right protesters. A Twitter video shows the screaming protesters while they try to disrupt the event but end up being outnumbered by LGBTQ+ supporters and their rainbow umbrellas.
Huge crowd of people showing support for Drag Story Hour in DC, after Proud Boys showed up to protest similar event last week. @wusa9 @ParasolPatrol pic.twitter.com/zNUUXaAuwI
— Evan Koslof (@ekoslof) February 25, 2023
These two episodes come only a week after the Proud Boys targeted several US businesses hosting LGBTQ+ events in a climate of increased hate against members of the queer community in the nation. Only last year, far-right extremists targeted over 124 drag shows. However, the LGBTQ+ community and their allies are starting to push back.
In West Virginia, a group of mixed martial arts fighters has volunteered security services for a local drag show that was cancelled after the performers received threats. Coach Johnny Haught took to Facebook, saying: “I volunteer myself and my fighters to stand guard so that people can do exactly what they want to do.
“The drag show is no more offensive than a Broadway show, or a standup comedy show. In essence, it’s a mix of both,” Haught told local news channel WTRF. “At the end of the day, it is entertainment. Not part of some hidden agenda, like some would have you believe”.
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