Police have launched a hate\u002Dcrime investigation after children\u0027s story hour at a California library was disrupted by Proud Boys
when a group of five men interrupted the event and began hurling homophobic and transphobic insults at attendees, including the drag performer known as Panda Dulce, officials said.
On Monday, detectives were still investigating. They were expected to hand over any evidence to the district attorney, who will determine whether hate-crime charges should be brought against the Proud Boys, a far-right group with a history of violence. Kelly said investigators believe the confrontation was spurred by the Twitter account Libs of TikTok, which traffics in anti-LGBTQ sentiment and propels incendiary stories into the right-wing media sphere.
That same day in Idaho, police arrested 31 men allegedly affiliated with the white-supremacist group Patriot Front on charges that they were conspiring to riot at a local Pride event. Extremism researchers say hate groups that target LGBTQ-friendly organizations or individuals are motivated by often overlapping beliefs in hyper-masculinity and archaic gender roles, fear of people who are different and the misplaced belief queer groups are amassing power and privilege at their expense.
Story hours have long been a staple of public library programming meant to promote literacy and engage young readers, though the Drag Queen Story Hour program is organized in local chapters and hosted by a local library.