They had to pass barricades, metal detectors, bomb-sniffing dogs, a background check by event organizers and a sign still bearing the scorch marks of what authorities called an attempt by a neo-Nazi to “burn … the entire church to the ground”.
But on Saturday 1 April, more than 100 residents of north-east Ohio gathered inside the Chesterland Community church and listened to a group of drag queens read stories to children. “It was amazing,” the church’s pastor, Jess Peacock, said. “I kept seeing the smiles on the kids faces and for me it was like, that’s why we did this.”
