Wadsworth drag queen show may become annual event, organizer says
A "Rock-n-Roll Humanist Drag Queen Story Hour" organized by a Wadsworth resident brought enough sound and fury Saturday to propel the city of 24,000 residents to an unsolicited national spotlight.
Opponents of the show sparred with proponents there to support attendees, each hurling profanities and verbal taunts at each other. The vitriolic language included racial and homophobic slurs and chants of "sieg heil."
More:Two arrested after protesters and supporters clashed at Wadsworth drag queen story hour
At times, it seemed the animosity could become physical, but for the most part, it didn't.
The most notable exception involved an individual in a rainbow suit, a man packing a pepper-spray gun and a Christian flag, and a Wadsworth business owner. In that dust-up, the hostilities led to charges of disorderly conduct.
And then, to top it all off, there were the Nazis.
About 100 people attend Wadsworth drag queen story hour
Almost lost in news coverage of the protest at Memorial Park was the show itself, drawing about 100 viewers, according to organizer Aaron Reed.
Reed, who goes by the moniker the "Rock-n-Roll Humanist," promoted the event for weeks on social media, promising a PG-rated show suitable for children and their parents.
In the buildup to the event, a private venue backed out after the tenor of opposition rose to threats. A charity designated for proceeds also stepped away.
Reed decided to forge onward and sought a permit to hold the event at Memorial Park, finally receiving a signed document just days prior to March 11.
In a phone interview Tuesday, Reed said that despite the protest that raged around the show pavilion, the drag queen story hour was a success.
"Inside the gazebo, (it) was filled with love and cheering and applause," Reed said. "The atmosphere inside that gazebo was so hopeful and amazing."
Video on Reed's Facebook page shows a performer dressed in black singing as attendees watch. Reed said about 100 guests braved hostile protesters and the frigid weather to attend and show support for the transgender community.
"I want to thank everybody who braved the Nazis and braved the cold," the promoter said.
Scores of officers keep tensions from boiling over
Wadsworth Police Chief Dan Chafin said about 100 police officers and EMS personnel from agencies around Medina County provided security. He could not immediately provide a cost estimate, but said the cost for security will be covered by taxpayers.
Given the tension between opponents and proponents, Chafin said, it was an achievement that the assembled officers were able to maintain their composure and ensure all sides of the protest were able to express their opinions without injuries.
"When you see images like that, when you hear language like that, it has the potential to pushpeople over the top," he said.
More:Dispute over drag performance for kids bubbles over at Wadsworth City Council meeting
Chafin said about 300 demonstrators and attendees were at the event during its peak, with "professional" groups adding to the friction.
"This is not a normal event for us in Wadsworth," he said. "This is not a normal event for us inMedina County."
Despite the vitriolic attacks from demonstrators, they had a right to assemble, he said. And police officers take an oath to defend that right and others, the police chief said.
"We are going to uphold and defend the Constitution," he said. "It is a Constitutional issue;it is a free speech issue."
The battle of the flags
Sometimes free speech can spark action, as in the case of Juan Carlos Collado Diaz of Cleveland andJason M. McKenna of Valley City.
During Saturday's event, Diaz and McKenna became involved in a confrontation that led to their arrest.
Video of the incident and the protests have received tens of thousands of views on YouTube. In one, Diaz is seen pushing the stem of an umbrella against McKenna's neck as McKenna argues with an unidentified individual.
More:Wadsworth OKs drag hour at park, but council president casts doubt on future permission
McKenna responds by striking Diaz in the shoulder with a Christian flag. Diaz counters by throwing a small rainbow flag at McKenna.
Diaz, who spoke at a recent council meeting in favor of Reed's event, and McKenna were both charged and taken to the Medina County Jail, according to a Wadsworth Police Department statement on Monday.
'Let them be kids': Show opponent discusses fears
On Tuesday in a phone interview, McKenna said he was with a group called 18+ Gets Rid of Us to protest what he called transgender grooming of children.
"We’re allowing these children to be subjected to this type of treatment," he said. "They don’t knowanything about that. Let them be kids. Stop pushing your agenda, your way of life, onto a 5-year-old."
In previous statements, Reed has said his event was, in large part, to support transgender children.
On Tuesday, he said McKenna's group was in communication with neo-Nazi groups as protests were planned.
McKenna, however, said that the Nazi presence Saturday was not welcome.
"The Nazis were calling me a Jew lover, a [slur]" he said. "We were totally against the Nazis.Everybody didn’t want those people there."
McKenna said he and his 12-year-old son were pepper-sprayed by an event supporter who was not arrested. According to Wadsworth police, three people were treated by EWS personnel after being sprayed with a pepper-spray substance.
McKenna said he and Diaz were released together Monday afternoon and shook hands.
The rapprochement, however, lasted only until McKenna reviewed the video of their confrontation.
"His demeanor totally changed" during the dispute, McKenna said after viewing video of their confrontation.
Diaz could not be reached immediately for comment.
A 'shocking' level of hate
Ian Burns, a Wooster resident who came to event to show support, said he was active in the 1980s at anti-KKK rallies but was surprised by the intensity of Saturday's protest."The level of hate… specifically, the threat of violence and the threat of bodily harm, was shocking," he said. "(A protester) looked me in the eye and told me, 'Every single one of you should be hung.' "
Local opposition to the event focused primarily on its appropriateness for children. During a recentcouncil meeting, opponents argued that drag shows, which often include sexually suggestive material, should not include children. The issue has played out nationally, with restrictions in some states on attendance at such shows by minors.
In Florida, for instance, a Miami hotel's liquor license is in jeopardy after a complaint filed Tuesday over a December drag show with children present. The complaint cited explicit content shown in violation of state law.
Wadsworth Council President Bob Thurber has said he is considering submitting an ordinance that would regulate "adult-themed" shows in the city. But the Wadsworth show, from available video and accounts from attendees, did not include adult-themed or sexually suggestive material.
Thurber did not respond to phone messages for comment and has not posted on his Bob Thurber for Mayor Facebook page since March 9, two days before the event. The next council meeting is scheduled for March 21.
A split in the crowd
If the crowd was split in its support for Saturday's event, there was near unanimous repudiation ofthe neo-Nazi presence at the park.
"It was shocking to see such open displays of Nazism," said Burns.
The veteran activist, who recently fought a book-banning proposal in his home city of Wooster, said he observed opponents of the show attempt to distance themselves from a cluster of neo-Nazis wielding a swastika flag.
"Some were able to talk calmly — even express deep concern about these Nazis showing up," he said.
McKenna said video shows protesters physically distancing themselves from the swastika-wielding group.
He expressed frustration that some social media posts and news reports placed all opposition in the same camp.
"They’re trying to say we’re all together and we’re not," he said. "Nobody wanted them. I'm like, 'I don't want to be associated with them.' "
McKenna said he confronted a leader of one of the neo-Nazi groups.
"(People on) both sides were protesting," he said. "They changed the whole dynamic of the protest."
Reed said he intends his "Rock-n-Roll Humanist Drag Queen Story Hour" show to become an annual event. But he doesn't expect to hold it in March.
"Next year (when it's) a little warmer," Reed said. "April or May."
Leave a message for Alan Ashworth at 330-996-3859 or email him at aashworth@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @newsalanbeaconj.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Wadsworth drag queen show may become annual event, organizer says
