Church hosting drag show vandalized with Molotov cocktails. Cops want event canceled
An Ohio church is defying a recommendation by police to cancel a drag show event for children.
The Thursday, March 30, recommendation by the Chester Township Police Department came days after Community Church of Chesterland was vandalized.
The vandalism and protests occurred at the worship center over the church’s decision to hold a Drag Brunch & Story Hour event Saturday, April 1.
Community Church of Chesterland is a “small faith community” affiliated with the United Church of Christ. The Ohio church has often been at the forefront of social justice movements, including being active participants in Cleveland’s Pride event.
The upcoming brunch and story hour will feature drag queens Empress Dupree, Ava Aurora Foxx, Monica Mod and Veranda L’Ni.
Police said the story hour is for children, but the drag brunch held the same day at Element 41 restaurant is only for patrons 18 or older, according to Ideastream Public Media.
Citing fears the events could lead to acts of violence by protesters or counter-protesters, officers are calling for the events to be canceled.
“In order to protect all involved, the children attending and the residents of Chester Township, law enforcement officials have made an official recommendation to the event organizer and the Community Church of Chesterland to cancel this event,” Police Chief Craig Young said. “This recommendation was not made without forethought and consideration of all current intelligence information available.”
But the church, within an hour of Young’s statement, said it is moving forward with its events put on in conjunction with Element 41. Security will be in place, the church said.
“We desperately wish to communicate to well-meaning supporters and community members that they should stay home if they are not coming to our events with a ticket,” the church said. “We are grateful for the support, but we do not want anyone to be harmed by potentially violent hate groups.”
Molotov cocktails thrown at church
The church was vandalized Saturday, March 25, when “at least one incendiary device ... struck the exterior of the church,” police said.
Church members said no one was hurt, but its sign was destroyed and outdoor light fixtures broken. Rev. Jess Peacock said Molotov cocktails were thrown inside the church that houses a preschool.
“So they’re obviously ‘thinking of the children,’” Peacock said in a Facebook post, mocking a common outcry from people who oppose drag events for kids.
Police are investigating, but it’s unclear who committed the vandalism.
“I go from anger to sadness, to disbelief to commitment,” Peacock told WEWS. “Because it’s not every day that you find out that someone wants to burn down your church home.”
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost condemned the action, calling it attempted arson and not a protest.
Drag events a growing trend
Opposition against drag shows has intensified in parts of the United States as the events grow in popularity and the visibility of drag queens worldwide increases in large part due to popular TV shows such as “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” now on MTV, and HBO’s “We’re Here.”
Other churches, including Park Church in Elmira, New York, Pilgrim Congregational Church in Duluth, Minnesota, and First Christian Church of Katy, Texas, have also hosted similar drag events in the last year.
The trend, according to an opinion piece by Premier Christianity, is “desecrating holy places.” Republican officials in many states have called for the events to be banned and drag to be outlawed in many circumstances, saying the events are inappropriate for children.
Tennessee, for example, has passed into law a ban on “adult cabaret performances” in public, in the presence of children or within 1,000 feet of places of worship, schools or public parks, that is widely seen as targeting drag performances and gender nonconforming individuals, NPR reported.
As of March 21, at least 14 states are considering some form of drag bans, according to the Center for Education, Research, and Advocacy. This has drawn condemnation from celebrities such as Kevin Bacon, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, and RuPaul himself, who derided the effort as a “classic distraction technique” from “bullies (who) are incompetent at solving real issues.”
And Peacock believes the outcry is even more reason to host the events.
“If we don’t create the space, there aren’t too many other people that will in Geauga County,” he said in an interview with United Christ of Church.
“When drag started becoming the controversy du jour … we wanted to lean into that,” he added. “Not to be controversial, because they shouldn’t be controversial. Events should be able to happen without people being threatened; without people bringing guns.”
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