Gun pulled and man maced in the face at family drag event in Ohio 

Violence broke out at a drag storytelling event over the weekend between various anti-drag protesters and activists defending the event, in a series of filmed clashes that saw two arrested.

Billed as the ‘Rock-n-Roll Humanist Drag Queen Story Hour’, the all-ages drag show was held in Wadsworth Memorial Park just outside of Akron Saturday over the course of several hours, during which tensions remained high and threatened to boil over at several points as protesters vastly outnumbered supporters.

Many were armed with weapons, and several shouted hateful slurs and gave Nazi salutes, as guns were pointed and mace deployed in a series of scuffles the broke out toward the end of the four-hour event.

Recorded by journalists who attended the event, the increasingly rowdy altercations resulted in men from both sides being arrested and later charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct.

Those charges stemmed from a series of recorded melees including one in which a protester wearing medieval body armor was maced by an attendee, and another where a man pulled a gun and threatened to shoot several event supporters.

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Recorded by journalists who attended the event, the increasingly rowdy altercations resulted in men from both sides being arrested and later charged with disorderly conduct

Those charges stemmed from a series of recorded melees including one where a man – seen being led away by lawmen here – pulled a gun and threatened to shoot event supporters

The civil disturbance serves as the latest example of the continuing backlash seen toward the increasingly common practice of holding drag shows for children, which has caused many parents to accuse organizers of attempting to instill pro-LGBTQ beliefs in their children while they are still young.

That said, the event in a small city which serves as a sort of conservative outpost from its much larger, Dem-led neighbor a few miles east, was held as scheduled, despite drawing on social media in the days building up to the violence.

Days earlier, in a letter sent to residents, the city of Wadsworth confirmed in a public statement that there would be a stark police presence at the event, and warned residents that it could grow out of hand.

‘After much discussion and legal review, we have no choice but to let the event take place,’ Wadsworth Public Safety Director Matt Hiscock and Wadsworth Police Chief Dan Chafin told the city’s roughly 24,000 residents.

Many were armed with weapons, and several shouted hateful slurs and gave Nazi salutes, as guns were pointed and mace deployed in a series of scuffles the broke out toward the end of the four-hour event

The officials further advised that everyday residents should not attend, saying that residents ‘should avoid being in the park if at all possible.’ 

The pair’s warning, however, seemingly fell on deaf ears – as more than 200 protesters descended on the small park Saturday, hailing from various hate groups including the neo-Nazi-aligned ‘Blood Tribe’ and White Lives Matter of Ohio.

Other organizations seen in attendance included the white nationalist Patriot Front, the Proud Boys and several unaffiliated conservative groups – many of whose members sought to distance themselves from their more radical counterparts.

Vehicles seen littering the police-occupied event sported out-of-state license plates, while Police Chief Chafin said officers from his department nearby Medina city and county lost track of those in attendance at around 200 people.