Several apparent Proud Boys members disrupted a Drag Queen Story Hour event at the San Lorenzo Library on Saturday afternoon — threatening the event’s organizer with homophobic and transphobic slurs and briefly forcing the performer to flee for safety, according to an Alameda County sheriff’s spokesman.
The men — many wearing shirts emblazoned with assault rifles that are popular with the far-right extremist group — barged into the library at about 1:30 p.m. and repeatedly yelled slurs at the performer, who was reading to preschoolers and kindergarteners during one of the library’s Pride Month events, authorities and organizers of the event said.
The Alameda County Sheriff’s Office has since opened a hate crimes investigation into the incident, vowing to “take a swift approach against anyone who tries to harm, threaten or do hate speech against that community,” Lt. Ray Kelly, a sheriff’s spokesman, said.
“This is Pride Month, and we’re going to celebrate Pride Month,” Kelly said.
“Meanwhile, we’re going to be very aware that during this month, there may heightened incidents of hate crimes against our LGBTQ community. So we’re going to use this as an opportunity to bring awareness that there is hatred in the community around Pride Month. And we’re going to be swift in our response to it.”
Transgender advocacy groups reacted with alarm Sunday about the event, which comes after similar disruptions at Pride Month events across the nation. In Idaho, dozens of members of a White nationalist group were arrested Saturday after authorities said they were planning to disrupt a Pride parade while equipped with riot gear.
The two incidents drew a rebuke from state Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, who called them “direct results of political attacks on LGBTQ people” in a Tweet.
In San Lorenzo, deputies were called at about 1:30 p.m. Saturday to the library, 395 Paseo Grande, after receiving multiple calls from people reporting that several men had showed up and “came in with a very aggressive, violent demeanor” while yelling slurs at the story time performer, Kelly said.
The reading was halted, and staff members quickly moved the performer into a back area of the library, said Cindy Chadwick, the Alameda County librarian.
“We’ve not seen anything like this,” Chadwick said. “The threat of violence was something I was very worried about. It was loud, it was abusive. It felt like we were being targeted.”
When deputies arrived, the disturbance appeared to have ended, and at least one of the men had already left, Kelly said. He said five men wore clothing similar to those worn by members of the Proud Boys, a far-right extremist group, though other attendees placed the total as high as 10.
No one was physically injured during the incident, Kelly said. No arrests were made, and Kelly said sheriff’s investigators are still working to positively identify the men who disrupted the event.
The sheriff’s office has since initiated its hate crime protocol, which opens up more resources for investigating such incidents, Kelly said. Detectives also are investigating whether the men also broke a law that prohibits annoying or harassing children, which is a misdemeanor.
The story time performer, Panda Dulce, later re-emerged and completed the reading once the men had left, Chadwick said.
The reading was among several Pride Month events at the library, which has hosted Drag Queen Story Hour events in the past, before the pandemic.
The story hours began in 2015 in San Francisco as a means to share LGBTQ experiences, celebrate diversity and promote reading through the art of drag, according to Jonathan Hamilt, executive director of Drag Queen Story Hour, a nonprofit that helps coordinate such events across the nation. In a Facebook message, he expressed disgust that the men had been “traumatizing children and their families.”
“Unfortunately, experiencing hate and sometimes violence is a daily experience for queer people,” Hamilt wrote.
On Sunday, Chadwick vowed to press ahead with other Pride Month events at library branches across Alameda County. She said the library system would likely consult with law enforcement agencies ahead of time to ensure the safety of attendees.
“This kind of intimidation is not tolerated in the library,” Chadwick said. “We will continue to do Pride events – we’re not going to shy away from that.”
In statements Sunday, multiple Bay Area officials decried the event’s disruption.
“Today while on a plane back to Washington, DC, I learned about an attack in our community by members of the Proud Boys,” Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Dublin) said.
“We must reject this hate and extremism whenever it shows itself, which is why I will be returning home this Thursday to meet with law enforcement and the community. There is no place for this hate in the East Bay, and we all need to speak up with one voice in saying so.”
“We strongly condemn this act of hate aimed at harming members of our community and our allies,” a statement by multiple Bay Area officials and shared on social media Sunday night said in part.
“We are living in a time when LGBTQ+ rights are under attack across several states in our nation, and sadly, even accepting and welcoming places like Alameda County are not exempt from this type of hate. Hate has no place in our community and must be met with decisive action.”
In flight now from CA to DC as I learned of Proud Boys attack on Trans community in my district. I will return home this week to meet with law enforcement and the community. We will not stand for this. And justice will flow like waters. #Pride
— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) June 12, 2022
Joint Statement from Bay Area Officials Condemning LGBTQ+ Hate Crime at San Lorenzo Public Library. pic.twitter.com/f8KkPYBNbt
— Harris Mojadedi 🏳️🌈 (@HarrisBknowin) June 13, 2022
Staff writer George Kelly contributed to this report.
Source: www.mercurynews.com