Far-right assault
Drag Queen Story Hour is a popular educational event featured with the likes of the NHS and Greenpeace. Organisers say:
Drag Queen Story Hour UK wants to show the world that being different is not a bad thing, and by providing imaginative role models for children to look up to, we can change the world book by book!
Needless to say, this is an affront to knuckleheaded fascist and far-right orthodoxies. Trans Safety Network reported on the kind of people who protest against these events:
The protests against Drag Queen Story Hour at Honor Oak Pub have been primarily led by Turning Point UK. Turning Point UK are the UK branch of far right organisation Turning Point USA. Turning Point UK’s previous claims to fame include speakers at their conference openly defending Hitler. The group has links to the Conservative Party, whose MPs have praised its work.
Openly fascist
And that’s not all. The event also pulled in former members of some of the most violent Neo-Nazi groups of the 80s and 90s:
Also present were those with previous involvement in neo-Nazi organisations. For example, Lance Wright was present, who was previously a member of the groups Blood & Honour and Combat 18.
Meanwhile, the counter-protesters were largely local people who didn’t want boot-boys and thugs wrecking their local area. Trans Safety Network reported:
The counter-protesters, on the other hand, were led by members of the local community. A group called South East London Love has formed in reaction to the far right’s presence, in order to protect and care for the local queer community.
Injuries and damage
The far-right attacked the counter-protestors who tried to stop them getting to the event. Amid violence and threats one counter-protestor, Ada Cable, was reportedly beaten:
One anti-drag protester repeatedly punched trans counter-protester Ada Cable in the face, leading to the injuries seen in our Twitter thread. Ada backed away and received first aid from another counter-protester. Ada was visibly injured to her head, which was bleeding, and also appeared to have a broken nose.
Initially only one police officer was on the scene. When other cops arrived they arrested a counter-protestor and then, according to reports, struck the already injured Ada Cable while she gave first aid to someone else:
I was still crouched on the floor, but one of them punched me in the face. I can tell the difference between a shove and a punch.
Brighton anti-fascists
Brighton anti-fascists were in attendance at the counter-protest. They tweeted a thread on the confrontation which made some important points:
On Saturday antifascists took a stand against far-right attempts to shut down a Drag storytelling event for kids in the Honor Oak pub in South London
You may have seen photos online of bloodied faces and fighting in the street
Some important points mostly not mentioned…
— BrightonAntifascists (@brightonanti) June 26, 2023
Firstly, that this is the latest in a series of attacks on these events:
This was the 5th event that has had the far-right trying to shut it down and been defended by a diverse coalition of queer / trans ppl and antifascists
Every time the far-right have been massively outnumbered and forced to the margins, far from the venuehttps://t.co/v0dLwcbOdK
— BrightonAntifascists (@brightonanti) June 26, 2023
The group also stated that there has been a change in tactics. The far-right seems to have drafted in old school fascist thugs to provide muscle.
The group also warned that these kinds of fascists are likely to become more common, if left unchallenged:
The context of the street violence is a vicious moral panic over gender / sexuality, heavily stoked by the billionaire-owned press and Tory party, of which far-right thugs are happy to be the foot soldiers
We see in the USA where this can go if allowed to run out of control
— BrightonAntifascists (@brightonanti) June 26, 2023
Ultimately, the counter-protestors served their community at great personal risk by facing down a far-right assault. LGBTQ+ people have always been a favourite target of the right, and community organisation is vital to keep them at bay in these febrile times.
Featured image via Wikimedia Commons/Brainy J, cropped to 1910 x 1000, licenced under CC BY 2.0.
