A drag queen story hour in the San Francisco Bay area was disrupted by a group of men who stormed the show, allegedly shouting hate speech aimed at members of the LGBTQ community. Authorities are investigating the incident that took place in at a children’s reading event in a library as a possible hate crime.
The event was hosted by drag queen Panda Dulce at the San Lorenzo library in celebration of pride month. According to Dulce, five men entered the show and yelled slurs such as “tranny” and “pedophile” and “totally freaked out all of the kids.” Dulce believes the men had “attempted to escalate to violence.”
The men who stormed into “Drag Queen Story Hour” at the San Lorenzo Library were described as members of the Proud Boys Organization. @ACSOSheriffs says an active hate crime investigation is underway.
Im told this video was taken once the situation was “calmer.” pic.twitter.com/5lJYXWZZkS— Stephanie Magallon (@MagallonNews) June 12, 2022
According to Alameda County Sheriff’s Office’s Lieutenant Ray Kelly, Sheriff’s deputies arrived on scene at approximately 1:30 PM in response to complaints about a disturbance at the library. Kelly said that the group was described as “extremely aggressive with a threatening violent demeanor causing people to fear for their safety.”
Although no arrests were made, the perpetrators of the alleged hate crimes wore black and yellow. Kelly said that the wear of these colors may indicate that “the group of men may be affiliated with the Proud Boys organization.”
The story hour is one of many child friendly drag queen events in the area. Organizers stress that these events are important and fun ways to “teach children about diversity and community.”
Dulce said, “I thought the closet was the loneliest place, but I was wrong. It was being out in the open, vulnerable and alone. Drag Queen Story Hour is so important to me, and for our youth, because it converts our differences from shame into power.”
Kelly reported that his office intends to post officers at drag queen story hours at the library in the future “to deal with any disruptors”.
No one was physically harmed in the disturbance. The Alameda Sheriff’s Office is currently investigating the event at the library as a “possible hate crime” and “harassment of children”.
