SAN LORENZO – The Alameda County Sheriff is investigating a group of men who violated a story-telling event on Saturday with homophobic and transphobic insults.
Deputies said the incident happened around 1:30 pm in the library of San Lorenzo, located on Paseo Grande.
Alameda County Sheriff’s Department Lt. Ray Kelly said the group entered the library during an event called Drag Queen Story Time. Kyle Chu, also known as the drag queen Panda Dulcie, hosted a story class for preschoolers in honor of the Place of Pride.
“I’ve always received death threats, I hate emails for dealing with the story of a drag queen. This time I felt very close to violence, “Dulce said in an interview with KPIX 5 on Sunday.
Panda Dulce, which appeared during the story in the Public Library of San Lorenzo on June 11, 2022. Panda Dulce
The sheriff’s Facebook page said: “The men have been described as extremely aggressive with threatening violent behavior that makes people fear for their safety. The deputies responded to the scene and managed to de-escalate the situation. “
Dulce said eight to 10 men had come in to stop the event. There was a small group of preschoolers and their parents. Dulcie was wearing San Francisco Giants gear.
“It was extremely strong. It was like a cacophony of voices who were just shouting at each other, making fun of me, calling me a groomer, a pedophile, a trance, and “it.” (They) asked the parents “why are you taking your children to this?” I didn’t feel safe because one of them was wearing an AK-47 shirt. And it said, “Kill your local pedophile,” Dulce recalled.
Video from a cell phone of one of the men allegedly breaking the story of a drag queen at the San Lorenzo Public Library on June 11, 2022. CBS
Dulcie said she eventually went to the back room to avoid a direct confrontation, and hoped it would de-escalate the situation.
“Fear, confusion, anxiety. I remember a child looking at his mother and saying, “What’s going on? Why raise your voice? Who are these people? ”Dulcie recalls. “I was raised by mostly real people and I didn’t end up straight. There is no agenda here except to be able to accurately reflect the diversity of our world. And because everyone’s worldview can’t be tolerated, that doesn’t mean we should deprive children of it. “
Alameda County Sheriff’s Deputies responded, saying the men were probably part of the Proud Boys, a right-wing hate group. In addition to possible allegations of hate crimes, authorities said they could be charged with harassment and child abuse.
“They want us to disappear. They want us not to exist so that they do not have to face their own discomfort with the idea that there are people in the world different from them. But guess what? There are people different from you in the world. And we will stay here. And we will continue to do what we do. And we will be visible about that, “Dulce said.
After the men were taken out of the San Lorenzo Library, Dulce ended his book-reading event. She said she would not allow hatred to win.
The Drag Queen Story Hour website describes the program as “just as it sounds – drag queens read children’s stories in libraries, schools and bookstores. DQSH captures the imagination and play of the smoothness of childhood gender and gives children glamorous, positive, and shameless weird role models. In spaces like this, children can see people who oppose strict gender restrictions and imagine a world where people can present themselves as they wish, where dress is real. “
Da Lin contributed to the report.
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