A group of neo-Nazis interrupted a drag queen story time event at a Concord, New Hampshire cafe on Sunday morning, a video posted by a performer shows.
In the video, which was posted to Twitter by drag queen Juicy Garland, a group of 15 or so men wearing face coverings perform a Nazi salute multiple times while chanting, and then begin pounding on the windows of the Teatotaller cafe where the monthly event was being held.
“We’ve got some verified Nazis today! Golly, I didn’t order those,” Juicy Garland captioned their tweet with a video of the incident.
The incident comes as the Republican Party has mobilised against transgender rights and drag performances in recent months. As of April, state legislators across the country had introduced more than 400 bills targeting the LGBT+ community – a record number.
In early April, Tennessee passed the country’s first bill banning drag performances in public spaces. The bill has since been successfully challenged in court, with its final fate still yet to be determined. The last year-plus has also seen far-right groups aggressively protest drag events and intimidate performers and attendees, pushing venues to cancel events out of safety concerns.
On Sunday in New Hampshire, however, they were not successful in shutting the event down.
“It’s not great to deal w/ Nazis on Sunday morning, but the Concord families I got to hang out with & read with were still awesome & kind,” Garland wrote in a follow up to their tweet. “MOST importantly, the kids had fun & weren’t scared or aware of any problems, thanks to adjustments we made. For that, I’m thankful”
Emmett Soldati, the owner of the Teatoteller, echoed Garland’s remarks.
“We’ve been hosting shows + story hours for a decade,” Mr Soldati wrote. “We’re going to host them for decades to come. Despite this hate filled disruption, @TeatotallerTea was not deterred. Shout out to @JuicyGarland for their composure + craft and to @LiamMagan for running a smooth + safe event.”
According to reporting from WMUR, the white supremacists who interrupted the event are members of the New England-based neo-Nazi group NSC-131.
The state Attorney General’s office has said that it is investigating the incident. In the meantime, Garland told WMUR that they will not stop performing.
“I will be back and we will continue to do these,” Garland told the television station. “If anything, I’m only more encouraged by these people to continue doing what we do.”
