Protesters, including apparent members of the Proud Boys hate group, chanted slurs and attacked counterprotesters at a drag story hour Saturday afternoon in downtown Silver Spring, according to witnesses.
Though opponents have demonstrated at drag story hours in Montgomery County for months, Saturday’s event appears to be the first time such a protest has involved violence.
However, because of the presence of counterprotestors shielding the entrance of the bookstore with umbrellas and pride flags, no children were subject to the violence and the event inside was able to continue as normal.
Local drag queen Charlemagne Chateau continued to lead the storytime, which was co-sponsored by Loyalty Bookstore and Drag Story Hour, a nonprofit that organizes drag storytimes all over the country.
The drag story hour was the latest in a number in Montgomery County since last summer where opponents have protested. The Proud Boys demonstrated at a story hour in October in Wheaton. Reports from previous local story hours did not reflect incidents of violence.
The protesters Saturday shouted anti-LGBTQ slurs and accused storytime organizers and counterprotesters—primarily a group called the Parasol Patrol DMV—of “grooming” children, according to video posted online and counterprotesters. They charged into counterprotesters, stomped on feet and punched one man in the face, the man, former County Council candidate John Zittrauer, told MoCo360.
The Parasol Patrol DMV shields children and families attending drag story hours and other LGBTQ family events from protestors by holding up umbrellas and pride flags.
Montgomery County Police Department officers responded to the protests. A spokesperson for MCPD said there were no arrests and no reports of injuries, although multiple people present at the event, including Zittrauer, reported injuries in interviews with MoCo360 and provided photos.
Hannah Oliver Depp, owner of Loyalty Bookstores, credited the Parasol Patrol DMV with allowing children to safely enjoy the story hour inside the bookstore.
“This utterly aggressive attack is happening outside for no reason, and inside here, Charlemagne Chateau was doing the hokey pokey and singing ‘If You’re Happy and You Know It’ and reading incredible books to kids, just holding down the fort and the kids were having a really fun time,” Oliver Depp said.
The Proud Boys is a white nationalist organization that has been classified by the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Anti-Defamation League as a hate group. Leaders of the group were indicted for conspiracy in the 2021 insurrection on the U.S. Capitol.
Proud Boys have made appearances at drag story hours across the country. According to Business Insider, by the end of 2022, the Proud Boys had joined or led 53 anti-LGBTQ protests in total for the year. Of those protests, 34 — or 60% — were drag-related, most of them targeting family-friendly dance parties and story hours.
Zittrauer, who was volunteering as part of the Parasol Patrol, said he was punched in the face by a member of one of the hate groups. He posted a photo on social media showing cuts to his nose.
“[The protestors] were just kind of yelling and pressing forward. And so we just kind of made sure that we were a barrier that they couldn’t get through. So we kept pressing forward and pressing forward. There was a guy in front of me who took a spill, so I was making sure that he was OK,” Zittrauer said. “Honestly, I did not know that I had gotten hit until I turned around and a couple of my friends were there looking at me and pointing out I was bleeding.”
Zittrauer did not press charges.
Councilmember Kristin Mink (D-Dist. 5) participated in the Parasol Patrol. She said while she was horrified by the violence, she was inspired by her constituents’ resiliency and willing to stand up for the LGBTQ community.
“The community turned out in much larger numbers than the Proud Boys, which is no surprise because Montgomery County is a place that celebrates and defends the diversity and inclusion of the LGBTQIA+ community, and that will always be true,” Mink said.
Mink said she was proud that members of the Parasol Patrol did not reciprocate when the Proud Boys became violent.
“We just held the line so the event could proceed safely,” Mink said. She said she considers it a success that the Parasol Patrol was able to shield children inside.
Zittrauer said despite the violence, he will participate in the Parasol Patrol again.
“Anything that promotes literacy with kids is a positive, but especially anything that tries to help kids feel OK about who they are and feel OK about people who are different from them is always going to be positive for society,” Zittrauer said. “That’s more important than a cut on my nose.”
Oliver Depp said it’s important to continue to host events like Drag Story Hour that celebrate LGBTQ stories, and that Loyalty Bookstores will continue to host these events. Loyalty has one location in Silver Spring and another in the Petworth neighborhood of Washington, D.C.
She said diverse books for kids are impactful, and reflected on her own experience as a Black queer person who didn’t see herself in children’s books growing up.
“I never saw myself represented in books. I never saw any books about queer kids when I was little. And I only saw books about Black people when it was about slavery,” Oliver Depp said. “I don’t want any kid in my community to grow up as bereft as I was. And so that’s why the story hour exists. We’re going to keep doing it, no one’s going to stop. We are extremely creative, and we will keep working with our community to try to keep everybody safe. But all we’re going to do is make sure kids see themselves and see the community around them represented in books.”
Mink said the violence is a reminder of how important it is to defend and support LGBTQ people and other marginalized communities.
“Whenever we see displays of hatred like this, it only reinforces how important it is to continue to celebrate and embrace the LGBTQIA+ community and show up in even larger numbers to show that’s where Montgomery County stands,” Mink said.