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These MMA fighters are ready to throw down to protect drag queens amid the rise in threats

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The right-wing opposition to drag and its performers has geared up over recent years in a big way. At this point, protesters and even armed militants like the Proud Boys are par for the course at Drag Story Hour events, and pieces of legislation like Tennessee’s new anti-drag bill are popping up across the country.

But as the ignorant, bigoted opposition builds its offenses, the queer community and its allies are far from backing down.

Earlier this month, a drag brunch event at Primanti Bros in Wheeling, West Virginia was cancelled due to threats made against the performers and their patrons from violent anti-drag protesters.

In response, local Ohio Valley MMA owner and head instructor Johnny Haught made his support of the entertainers loud and clear. In a Facebook post, the owner offered his services and those of his fellow fighters, writing, “I’m sure we can make sure the event stays safe.”

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In an interview with local news station WTRF, Haught emphasized that drag was a harmless artform that deserves to be protected.

“The drag show is no more offensive than a Broadway show, or a stand up comedy show. In essence, it’s a mix of both,” he explains. “At the end of the day, it is entertainment. Not part of some hidden agenda, like some would have you believe.”

He also states that while he and his fellow martial artists have the skills to keep the queens safe, his main focus is on non-violence all around.

“If you have control of a situation, it shouldn’t escalate,” he notes. “That comes with the understanding that you will put your self in harms way sometimes. As long as you speak with respect to an individual, and refused to be treated any other way, usually even the most unruly person will fall in line.”

Haught then shared his WTRF interview to his Facebook page with the caption, “We hate bullies around here.”

Following his vocal support for the community and the show, Haught received an anonymous hate call threatening his involvement. Not over his defense, mind you; the caller somehow thought Haught was one of the performers.

“The man on my voice-mail paid me the greatest compliment,” the fighter writes on his Facebook page. “Unfortunately, while I have tremendous legs and ass, I don’t have the makeup skills to be in a drag show.”

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Bravo, Meatball.

GLAAD reports that 2022 saw no less than 141 cases of anti-drag violence against performers, venues, and patrons. These events include everything from basic physical violence against anti-protesters to tossing molotov cocktails at drag-friendly businesses.

The original tally doesn’t even include the cases of armed intimidation LGBTQ+ events faced all year from organizations like the Proud Boys, or cases where the assailant’s motives hadn’t been officially ruled, like the horrible Club Q shooting.

Things haven’t slowed down any this year, either; drag events are still being constantly protested, and pro-drag businesses are still having their windows shot out.

Responses like that of Haught and, more drastically, that of armed LGBTQ+ organizations like Rainbow Reload, show that we and our allies are going to keep each other safe. We’ve always had to, and always will.

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