Organizers canceled an all-ages drag show in Columbus, Ohio, on Saturday morning after men belonging to the far-right Proud Boys group threatened to disrupt it. Many of the men turned up wearing camouflage clothing, masks and carrying guns.
Images of the group quickly circulated on social media.
These are the people who showed up outside of a drag show in Columbus, Ohio and caused it to be canceled. This is terrorism. Where is the DoJ? This is a clear violation of civil rights by neo-nazi orgs. pic.twitter.com/wRFOq5GOno
— Alejandra Caraballo (@Esqueer_) December 4, 2022
How about we take this to the next level?
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A massive convergence of right-wing militants in Columbus, some armed, just shut down a drag holiday event. Organizers expected police to show, unsurprisingly, they did not.
Or they did dressed in black/yellow.
Proud Boys and Patriot Front are emboldened after Club Q. pic.twitter.com/NKipDnufNR
— Erin Reed (@ErinInTheMorn) December 3, 2022
Some of the group thought it best to make their point by dancing along to the Village People hit, ‘Y.M.C.A’.
Proud Boys dancing to Village People’s ‘YMCA’ at today’s protest in Columbus, Ohio pic.twitter.com/HR9e927nad
— Brendan Gutenschwager (@BGOnTheScene) December 3, 2022
Whether this was an attempt to troll the gay community, or a nod of acknowledgment toward Donald Trump, who blasts the song at his rallies, is unknown.
Related: Proud Boys disrupt Pride Month library event in South Bend
Video of the protests and counter-protests was caught by video journalist ‘BG On The Scene’.
Police and organizers dispute claims over safety plan
The Red Oak Community School organized Saturday’s ‘Holi-Drag Storytime’ event. The venue for the event was the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Columbus. The cancellation came a few hours in advance of the event taking place.
Cheryl Ryan, School Manager, Red Oak Community School, said the cancellation came about due to an inability to arrange a satisfactory security plan.
Ryan claimed calls to the police did not elicit the desired response.
“I spent a week calling our police department and leaving voicemails about the reports we had seen,” Ryan said. “After a week, I was told we could hire a special duty police officer who may or may not show up because they are understaffed.”
She said she also attempted to work with an LGBTQ group on providing security. However, they would only do so if there was no police presence.
“In the end, our performers felt unsafe without a police presence, while our safety team felt unsafe with a police presence,” Ryan said.
The police dispute this version of events. In a statement to the Buckeye Flame, it said, “CPD [Columbus Police District] learned about this event through Facebook and immediately reached out to the church and the school. A face-to-face meeting took place with all parties on November 18th to talk about the event and a safety plan. The school did request a special duty officer, but cancelled that request on the same day of the meeting.
“During this week, CPD continued to communicate with the church, school, neighbors, and businesses in that area to inform them of our safety action plan. The school and church were consistently involved in those discussions through email and phone calls.
“CPD was told by the school that we could have plainclothes officers outside the event, but not inside the building for they had hired their own private security. CPD pulled together resources from several units to make sure we were present, including officers from our bike patrol and dialogue team.
“Even though the event was cancelled, we still had personnel and officers in the area to make sure all parties were safe.”
“He said I had a good mustache”
Police were duly present while the Proud Boys staged their protest on Saturday. In fact, one of its officers went viral after LGBTQ advocates spotted him high-fiving one of the Proud Boys.
The mom of a gay child challenged the cop as to why he was high-fiving a protestor. The officer said he was not condoning their point of view but “building relationships”. He said he was the “leader of the dialogue team,” and that the Proud Boy had complimented him on his appearance.
“He said I had a good mustache,” he explained.
The officer offered to share his bodycam footage with the woman challenging him to prove what he was saying.
Let a Columbus police officer explain in his own words. pic.twitter.com/RZFHv1tS24
— The Rooster (@rooster_ohio) December 3, 2022
Related: ‘Proud Boys’ try to disrupt drag queen story hour in California
Power station attacked in North Carolina
The cancellation of the Columbus event comes two weeks after a man entered Club Q in Colorado and started firing. Five people died and dozens more were injured.
In North Carolina on Saturday, a drag show in Southern Pines also faced threats of protest.
Minutes after the event began, the power went out. It later turned out that vandals had purposefully fired shots at a nearby power station. This act of vandalism cut power to around 40,000 people in Moore County. Police and the FBI are investigating.
Power has yet to be fully restored and may stay out for a few days. There have been reports of automobile accidents because local traffic lights are now out of action. Moore County Sheriff Ronnie Fields said yesterday they had yet to find evidence that the power outage was directly linked to the drag show protests.
Chrisk
Those big tough “men” trying to intimidate those older women. Ha.
Also, the cop sure showed where he stood. Yeah, I’m sure it was just about the compliment he got. More like he didn’t expect to get filmed doing it.
abfab
Proud of what?
Paris in Santiago
Enough. Time to start chapters of our own queer militia. I’ve had it. Also, i think its time to take the Groomers are Here signs to the churches.
abfab
I love how they always find new and creative names to call us.
abfab
lindsey, meet proud boys
Josh in OR
Every bully I’ve ever had, from my own father on, has been a cishet, white, ‘alpha’ (in his own mind) male.
Every drag queen I’ve ever met has been nothing but welcoming and funny and loving and fiercely protective of ‘her’ people.
The vast majority of pedophile child rapists are cishet white men. I have never heard of a drag queen molesting children. The one drag queen I know of who was caught using her fame to abuse young men (not, I should stress, children) was absolutely excommunicated by the community and every outlet and fan of drag.
I feel safer with my nieces and nephews being around drag queens than I do with them being around performatively ‘masculine’ Proud Boys.
abfab
WORD!
thebaddestbabby
“using her fame to abuse young men” — if she was not doing anything illegal, she should not have been “excommunicated by the community and ever outlet and fan of drag”
STAR F*CKERS ARE NOT VICTIMS (unless, of course, a crime takes place)
glad I moved away from Portland, which has really turned into a puritanical cesspool of complaining nb’s who can’t f*ck
Josh in OR
@thebaddestbabby:
Look into Sherry Pie.
Not from Portland.
Did illegal shit.
Got ‘cancelled’ for it (Oh noes! Consequences for actions! THE HORROR!!!! *gasp!!*).
Maybe have an idea what’s being discussed before knee-jerk reacting to something no one said. As the wise man once said, “Better to stay silent and be thought a fool than to speak up and remove all doubt.”
abfab
@babybullshit Move away frome HERE and do us all a favor.
DHT
Drag Queens abusing under age children is not unheard of…look up Sharon Needles.
LumpyPillows
On thing is clear, I’ll take the worst drag queen ever over a “proud” boy.
LumpyPillows
I loved Mrs. Doubtfire. Somehow I’m not so sure drag for children is the greatest idea, but it surely doesn’t warrant this level of hate, or in this case, idiocy. Seriously, even bad drag can’t be any more damaging than the Kardashians, or Judge Judy on a young mind. Come to think of it, being a parent is a minefield.
abfab
Drag has always been the greatest idea for children!
Josh in OR
Drag is just the modern version of clowning.
For adults, there is raunch, pathos and glamour.
For kids, there’s bright colors, glitter, silly voices, and big, wild personalities.
No drag queen is going to perform their blue material in front of kids. That worry is just the sort of thing that lets haters get their idiotic ‘groomers!’ hooks into otherwise reasonable people.
LumpyPillows
While I would agree that drag, done in the proper, age-appropriate way could be fun and inclusive, that isn’t the kind of drag shows I’ve ever gone to. Not sure I trust many drag queens I know to not be drunk and keep it clean. Yes, I probably run with the wrong sorts of drag queens. My mother has said as much.
Not saying no to the idea, but you must admit it bears thought. Perhaps filming and posting on the Utube thingamajig a really great drag performance for kids showing how fun it can be would be helpful.
The groomer label is uncalled for, regardless. As anyone knows, one does not groom in a performance or large group, it is something one does one-on-one in the seclusion of, say, a Church.
abfab
Josh is right. That’s the reality of it.
LP, would you rather have scary clowns, bizarre easter bunnies or stupid santas traumatizing the little ones to death? But wait, some drag queens DO look like scary clowns. Look what Ru has unleashed! I would say that if you want an intelligent, caring, non-scary queen, stick with Miss Coco Peru. And she’s the BEST story teller. Although children bother her, she says so all the time. Nevermind.
I’m still trying to get over Bozo and Capt Kangaroo.
LumpyPillows
Abby, I like it. New hashtag #blameitonRu.
Ok,ok, bring on the drag queens!
abfab
hashtag #scaryclownqueens
abfab
Oh, and someone tell the unproud girls that the drag they are in is getting moldy and decrepid. Imagine the need to dress like that……
LumpyPillows
The best thing those gags could have happen is a drag queen makeover.
RoyM
The Proud Boys should be put down like the rabid animals they are.
LumpyPillows
On thing is clear, I’ll take the worst drag queen ever over a “proud” boy.
analive
Hi handsome, any desire to have some fun? 😉 Any of your desires. 😉 follow the link and add me as a friend.
link -> hot4.app/id4102913
Joshooeerr
It’s a measure of their stupidity that they’re dancing to the gayest song ever, and one which is all about cruising for sex at the Y.
inbama
Proud Boys have been denounced as terrorists by Canada and New Zealand.
They were part of Trump’s assault on the Capital last January 5.
Why does the U.S.A. continue to put up with them?
Doug
These losers claim to be so proud and outspoken, but they’re too chickenshit to take the masks off their faces. They’re no different than the KKK with their hoods.
johncp56
Man who calling whom Groomers, wow what hateful Maroons shameless haters cowards they wear masks and camo guns without proof of the groomer they are targetting wow
bachy
The people in the neighborhood featured in the ‘BG On The Scene’ video must have been thrilled to see packs of angry men hanging out in front of their homes, waving guns and rainbow flags and arguing over the appropriateness of drag queens at children’s events.
In my view, the LGBTQ crowd really needs to learn how to pace itself. Acting like a political hammer only triggers backlash. For a vivid recent example, we need only look what happened to the Women’s Movement after all the lurid sexual drama of #MeToo: abortion rights went up in smoke, pushing the movement backwards 50 years.
Lately it seems we’re listening to the wrong people and we’re going about things the wrong way. Antagonism, self-righteousness and hyper-sexualizing the issues are not effective strategies.
LegionKeign
“Antagonism, self-righteousness and hyper-sexualizing the issues are not effective strategies.”
That’s exactly what the fascists do and you know it.
Are you as upset with the fact that these fascists are bringing guns to venues where there are children present to intimidate them?
We should have our own security with our own guns. It’s been shown before if we show up with our own security/guns they tend to stay away because they are cowards.
Cancelling the shows is what they want and is the wrong move to make.
abfab
But what would we call ourselves? The Gay Panthers? The Rainbow Rambos? The Pansy Posse? I’m just grabbing at straws here.
bachy
@Legion: oh sure. Let’s start a war over Drag Queen Story Hour. Sorry but that’s a hill I don’t wanna die on, sister.
Jim
Camo is the new drag
abfab
Yes, and underneath it all are dumb, wimpy men. All dressed up and no place to go.
scotty
those that protest the most are ALWAYS the deepest in the closet. they are just afraid that folks will find out about the circle jerks and daisy chains at the meetups in the walmart parking lots before they all go hide behind other self hating closeted homosexuals to protest. quite pathetic actually. but i will keep laughing at them just like everyone else does .
Jon in Canada
Nothing some well place snipers nests couldn’t take of. The only good Nazi/MAGAt/Dominionist is a dead one.