Columbus police Chief Elaine Bryant said police actively planned for drag holiday story time event at a Clintonville school before it was canceled.
Columbus police Chief Elaine Bryant issued a video statement Monday in response to the weekend’s canceled drag holiday story time event in Clintonville, saying the police division “stands fully with the LGBT+ community.”Saturday morning over safety concerns about protests by the Proud Boys, a far-right white nationalist extremist group, and what school officials described as a"casual, distant acknowledgement" of the event from police.
The drag event was protested by the Proud Boys, a far-right neo-fascist organization designated as a terrorist group by Canada and New Zealand, and was also attended by members of the white nationalist, far-right extremist group the Patriot Front. Some of those protesting the drag event were wearing military gear and carrying assault rifles; many were wearing masks that covered their faces from the nose down.
“It’s going to be wild,” the group said in its posting, language similar to that used by former President Trump to encourage his supporters to attend his Jan. 6, 2021 rally in Washington, which led to the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.became aware "I spent a week calling our police department and leaving voicemails about the reports we had seen," Cheryl Ryan, manager of Red Oak Community School manager, said in."After a week, I was told we could hire a special duty officer, who may or may not show up because they're understaffed."
Days before the event, Columbus police were informed that organizers were working with “an unnamed community safety organization” to provide security for the event and plainclothes officers were no longer needed inside the church. The organizers were comfortable with police outside the church, Bryant and Ginther said
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