A planned Drag Queen story hour at a Pennsylvania library was canceled after several bomb threats and the discovery of a suspicious package in the building.
The Lancaster Public Library and two blocks downtown were evacuated Saturday after reported threats against a nearby Starbucks and the library’s director, Lissa Holland.
The event, featuring drag queen Amie Vanité, had drawn passionate opposition from some residents during a marathon county commissioners meeting Wednesday, the second straight meeting marked by protests from residents after Republican commissioners labeled the event inappropriate, reported LancasterOnline.
“I’m shocked,” the drag performer, whose real name is Christopher Paolini, told WGAL after the event’s cancellation.
“It’s very disappointing, disheartening and I’m surprisingly unmoved because I’ve been dealing with this kind of hate on these programs for years, but it’s never been like this before.”
The event in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, featuring drag queen Amie Vanité, had drawn passionate opposition from some residents and lawmakers
A city spokesperson later told LancasterOnline that a dog had alerted to the package found in the library and the contents were later found to be “benign.”
“I’m shocked,” the drag artist, whose real name is Christopher Paolini, said after the event’s cancellation
A city spokesperson later told LancasterOnline that a dog alerted to the package found in the library and the contents were later found to be “benign,” but “we subsequently received additional written threats via email.”
Lancaster Pride, a nonprofit that honors the city’s LGBTQ+ community, posted a message on social media that the “Drag Story Hour with Miss Amie” had been canceled, saying that “the safety and well-being of our community is of the utmost importance are important to us. ‘
About 500 families registered for the event.
Commissioner Josh Parsons had previously said that libraries should be “places where children can read and learn safely, not politicized social laboratories for a woke ideology.” Fellow commissioner Ray D’Agostino said he thought there was a link between children being more “confused, anxious and stressed” than ever and people “trying to promote adult-themed issues at such a young age.”
Dozens of people attended a prayer vigil on Friday evening in the square next to the library, protesting the event.
Both Parsons and D’Agostino issued statements Saturday afternoon condemning the reported threats and calling for those responsible to be prosecuted regardless of their motives, LancasterOnline reported.
“Threats of violence have no place in our debates,” Parsons said.
Holland, director of the library, told LancasterOnline she was “really sad, really disappointed and angry” about the cancellation.
‘The library must be a place of safety. …And as I’ve told folks several times this week, just as every book in the library isn’t for everyone, every show may not be for everyone. But we don’t censor,” she said.
The listing for the “Drag Queen Story Hour” on the library’s events page called on attendees to “join Miss Amie Vanité as she spreads awareness and acceptance by celebrating diversity, inclusivity, kindness and love through LGBTQ+ literature for young readers.’
The listing for the “Drag Queen Story Hour” on the library’s events page called on attendees to “join Miss Amie Vanité as she spreads awareness and acceptance
The Lancaster LGBTQ+ Coalition reported “backlash” in a Facebook post earlier this month, denouncing what it called “hateful comments about the LGBTQ+ community” from government officials.
“We want to be clear that drag story hours for children are NOT the same as drag performances for adults,” the group said. The performer, the group said, “is a professional who has done other story hours for children.
“She dresses in fun, whimsical costumes, sings age-appropriate songs and reads age-appropriate books.”
Lancaster Mayor Danene Sorace said: “While we respect dissent and freedom of expression, the use of fear to manipulate and control our community will not be tolerated in Lancaster City. We will not let that stop us from loving our neighbors – all of them.”
