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Armed demonstrators gathered outside the Aztec Theatre in downtown San Antonio on Tuesday night. Some were there to condemn the holiday themed drag show scheduled to take place inside, and others were there to support the show. Alongside them were armed San Antonio police officers, eyeing both sides.
The Texas-based far-right extremist group This is Texas Freedom Force led the demonstration. It said earlier that it was there over unsubstantiated claims regarding children.
This is Texas Freedom Force has been described as a “militia extremist group” by the FBI. The group has used social media to denounce the show as an attempt at “grooming children.”
“This all could have been avoided,” the group said on Twitter, referring to its demonstration. “Make the show 18yo & up. Even the opposition claims the show isn’t geared towards kids, so why allow them in? Oh that’s right, bc it is about grooming kids, they want kids there.”
LGBTQ community members conducted a counter demonstration.
San Antonio police officers were there site to ensure public safety while ‘protecting … rights to free speech,” according to a police department statement. A squadron of bike police stood nearby and monitored the situation. They kept the demonstrators at a distance from the theater’s entrance.
By 7 p.m., supporters and critics of the drag show filled the sidewalks on opposite sides of St. Mary’s Street, near its intersection with Crockett Street. Some of the participants supporting the show held signs supporting for LGBTQ rights, waved flags and chanted. TPR estimated the LGBTQ side outnumbered the far-right protestors by 4 to 1.
Onlookers stood at the windows in the buildings nearby and watched the drama below play out. The street remained open and clear, and cars slowly rolled past as drivers surveyed the scene. Some cars honked, and the LGBTQ crowd cheered.
The multicolored Christmas lights draped from trees and buildings twinkled in the background, giving the situation a tense, surreal beauty.
“A Drag Queen Christmas” is traveling a drag show that’s visiting 36 cities. It features prominent drag performers, including ones who have starred on “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” The show does not bill itself as an all-ages event except in an event disclaimer about ticket prices. All persons will require a ticket to enter, regardless of age.
Robert Salcido Jr., executive director of the Pride Center San Antonio, said on TPR’s “The Source” on Tuesday that the recent attacks on drag queens were not about the drag queens themselves but about the LBGTQ community as a whole, dating back to the fight against marriage equality.
“Then when we won marriage equality, they went after trans folks and then trans youth, and now they’re bringing drag queens into the conversation,” he said. “Make no mistake that this is not about drag queens. This is about the LGBTQ+ community and their disdain with us or their dissatisfaction with us as a community, trying to further erase us from the community.”
The group Black Freedom Factory, along with other groups, encouraged people to join the counter protest and support the show.
Kimiya Factory, the executive director of Black Freedom Factory, said during a call to “The Source” that there has been a legal backtrack on laws that protect the LBGTQ+ community and its a First Amendment right to assemble to protect those values.
“Our ultimate goal is queer joy. We are going to show up and … cheer on the trans non-binary community here in San Antonio and spread a message that we will not stand for this kind of transphobia and fascist agenda in our city, but more importantly, throughout the nation.”
In a statement, the San Antonio Police Department said it was aware of recent protests at LGBTQ+ events around the country.
“Public safety for every member of our community is our top priority,” the statement said. “Our Fusion Center is monitoring the upcoming “Drag Queen Christmas,” and we are aware of the planned protests. As such, we are performing threat assessments to prepare appropriately. We want to assure the public and, specifically, the LBGTQ+ community that we are committed to honoring our unwavering commitment to public safety while protecting everyone’s constitutionally protected rights to free speech.”
The show begins Tuesday at the Aztec Theater at 8:00 p.m.