The following statement is in response to the cancellation of the Holi-Drag Storytime event.
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I stand fully with our LGBTQ+ neighbors, and I condemn any and all efforts to intimidate, harass, threaten or cause harm to any member of this community.
Earlier today, an extremist group known as the Proud Boys staged a demonstration outside of an event intended to be a family-friendly program. The Proud Boys is designated as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, regularly espousing extremist, white-nationalist ideologies and beliefs that stand in stark contrast with who we are as a city. That is why we took this threat so seriously from the very beginning, and that is why we began developing a safety plan weeks ago.
When the City of Columbus was first made aware of the intent of these groups to have a presence at this event, the Columbus Division of Police immediately began working in close coordination with the organizer of the event, Red Oak Community School, the host of the event, the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Columbus, and LGBTQ+ community leaders to ensure that a security plan was in place to allow the event to occur peacefully and without interruption.
These ongoing communications between the Division of Police and the event organizers began on Friday, November 18, and continued through today, when the event was intended to take place. As a result of these many conversations, a safety plan was developed that included coordination between the Columbus Division of Police and a private security firm that is owned, operated and staffed by LGBTQ+ community members. This safety plan was agreed upon and supported by the Central Ohio LGBTQ+ Leadership Roundtable which, in a statement issued on Wednesday, November 30, indicated that, “LGBTQ+ community leaders have been in conversation with Red Oak, local security professionals, local law enforcement, and Mayor Ginther and have confidence that they are taking this threat very seriously. They have a strong commitment to the children's and our community’s safety and we have confidence in their ability to address this situation.”
On Monday, November 28, I met with members of the Central Ohio LGBTQ+ Leadership Roundtable, which is made up of leaders who represent each of the organizations serving the Columbus-area LGBTQ+ community. Over the course of our conversation, Police Chief Elaine Bryant, Officer Shawn Lutz and Lt. Justin Coleman outlined the Police Division’s robust plans to respond to any potential threat to today’s event. During that discussion, our community’s LGBTQ+ leadership expressed support for and confidence in the safety plan that we had developed in coordination with the event organizers.
Yesterday, on Friday, December 2, the organizer of the event indicated that they no longer wished to partner with the private security firm and police tasked with protecting the event. As a result of this abrupt change, the event performers indicated that they no longer felt safe to participate in the event. Shortly thereafter, the event organizer announced the cancellation of the event. Despite the cancellation, Columbus Division of Police officers and personnel were onsite today to ensure safety at the site and throughout the surrounding neighborhood.
Our Division of Police, working in close coordination with the LGBTQ+ community, invested significant resources to ensure that this event could take place peacefully and without disruption. It is very unfortunate that the event was canceled, and we will continue to uplift and support the LGBTQ+ community moving forward."
Original source can be found here.
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