A protest outside of a drag queen story hour was broken up by police on Saturday in Silver Spring, Maryland.
Police broke up a Proud Boys protest outside of a drag queen story hour in Silver Spring, Maryland, on Saturday.
The event with drag queen Charlemagne Chateau was held at the Loyalty Bookstore on Ellsworth Drive near Veterans Plaza. The Montgomery County Police said they were called to the area for a confrontation between two groups at about 1 p.m.
Video from the incident shows masked Proud Boys holding signs outside of the event. One sign read, “Proud Boys love children. Proud Boys hate pedophiles. Leave kids alone.”
The Parasol Patrol, a group of volunteers that shields children and their families from the harassment of protestors, was present at the event. They said their volunteers were kicked, had their feet stomped on and that one volunteer was punched in the face.
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"The incredible @parasolpatrol and the MoCo chapter of @DragStoryHour did wonders to not only push back and hold the safe space, but to keep cheering and singing joyfully in the face of hate speech and disgusting threats. Because of their efforts the children inside the store got to enjoy doing the Hokey Pokey, hearing beautiful books read aloud," @Loyaltybooks tweeted.
Police said they were not notified of the event. When officers arrived, they dispersed the crowd.
No one was arrested.
