Monash Council has cancelled a drag queen story-time event after threats of violence against families, the performer, councillors and staff escalated to include intimidation from neo-Nazis following a tense protest at its offices.
The south-eastern council’s meeting in Glen Waverley was derailed last week when almost 200 people attended, many protesting against its sold-out drag queen event planned for children and parents at Oakleigh Library on May 19.
Extra security staff and police officers were on hand after fringe groups, including My Place and Reignite Democracy Australia, rallied supporters to attend. The groups espouse views often associated with alt-right or conspiracy-theory thinking and can be hostile to the LGBTQ community.
Protesters verbally abused attending residents and repeatedly labelled councillors “paedophiles”, forcing the council to adjourn proceedings. The drag queen who was to host the library event, Sam T, said she also had received death threats.
Unlike other councils, including Casey and Boroondara, Monash had until today refused to give into weeks of abuse and threats to scrap its drag event. The intimidation increased in recent days.
Screenshots from social media app Telegram show that Thomas Sewell – who leads Australia’s largest neo-Nazi group, the National Socialist Network – wrote in a since-deleted post on Tuesday that he would “bring as many Nazis as possible” to the drag event.
Read the article by Sophie Aubrey in The Age.