Five people have been arrested after a clash between protests and counter-protesters over a drag queen story hour in the UK.
The event was taking place at the Honor Oak pub in Forest Hill on Saturday.
Turning Point UK protesting drag storytime at the Honor Oak vs. the counter-protesters. Poor showing for the far right, there’s maybe 30 of them at most pic.twitter.com/C9bm7K7nV0
— fergus (@Desmostylian) February 25, 2023
There was a small scuffle earlier, police tackled a guy in a black hoodie and mask, but otherwise no incidents. Were a lot of Turning Point people prowling the edge of the line with cameras trying to start something pic.twitter.com/JyM6zqXUEv
— fergus (@Desmostylian) February 25, 2023
Ahead of the planned event and protests, the Honor Oak pub released a statement on Facebook demanding that the event was family-friendly and suitable for young kids.
“It has come to our attention that there may be some misunderstanding about the event, so we wanted to reassure you all that our popular Magical Storytelling event will be age appropriate and it isn’t anything different to what families will see and experience together in a theatre,” the pub wrote.
The Daily Mail reports that the drag queen “That Girl” who was involved with the event, also issued a statement on social media saying, “we have been made aware of plans to protest our event and are grateful to those who have offered to attend in solidarity with us.”
“If you feel safe and able to join us, please come along, noting that our event will be a display of queer joy and solidarity,” the statement continued. “We ask you do not engage with any protesters – they are not looking for a conversation and we will not dignify their bigotry with a response.”
The drag queen continued, “should you need them, there will be security on site. Thank you for your support and we look forward to seeing you.”
According to a report from Southwark News, “although police said the protests were ‘largely peaceful,’ five people were arrested – three for affray, one for a public order offense, and one for assault on an emergency worker and possession of an offensive weapon.”
Lewisham’s National Education Union (NEU), representing teachers, attended the counter-protest and tweeted, “We will not let transphobic bigots come to our community unchallenged and won’t let far-right organizations sow division. The community responded emphatically.”
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