WADSWORTH BECOMES A NATIONAL SPECTACLE AS PROTESTS ESCALATE IN MEMORIAL PARK

BY HALEY REEDY, KATIE BASINGER, & CARLEY SORRENT

The “Rock-n-Roll Humanist Drag Queen Story Hour,” organized by Wadsworth local Aaron Reed, was held in Memorial Park in downtown Wadsworth on Saturday, March 11. It quickly escalated into an event for protest by many extremist groups, putting those at the event and consequently all Wadsworth citizens in danger.

Reed’s event was envisioned to be a peaceful storybook hour, where a local drag queen would read a selected story and perform a few rock songs for the children at the event.

The event was originally set to be held at a local business–the Wadsworth Brewing Company– in downtown Wadsworth. Death threats were made to Reed, the Brewing Company, and the drag queen, Miss Solveig Wells. Businesses located downtown originally had posters advertising this event to be “fun for all ages,” but later took them down after immense negative attention. Eventually, the brewery backed out of the event after the extensive hate it received, leading other businesses to shy away from hosting the event as well. Additionally, after more and more threats occurred, Wells too decided to step back from the event.

The original plan was for the proceeds made from the event to be donated to Margie’s Hope, a local charity that aims to help support members of the LGBTQ+ community. However, seeing the negative attention that the event was pulling in, they backed out due to safety concerns.

After Margie’s Hope backed out, Reed started marketing his event as a memorial event for the Club Q shooting that occurred in November, stating that the proceeds would instead be going to the B. Reily House for LGBTQ+ persons in crisis and addiction.

The threats themselves were coming from a heavy online presence by the supporters of the event and the opposition. Members of the community expressed their differing opinions on the event.

Some agreed that this was a family event and would love to have their children attend. Others argued whether or not Wadsworth was a place that would support a drag show.

People on the internet announced that this was a child grooming event and had no place taking place in a public park.

Reed took to his Facebook page to condemn the hate that he was receiving. He got into several online debates about whether or not what he was doing was

Reed as well as the discussion that had come up around it.

“Like many of you, the city does not condone the behavior of the organizer,” the statement said.

“We also condemn the negativity and rhetoric that the discussion surrounding the event has caused. After much discussion and legal review, we have no choice but to let the event take place at the Memorial Park Pavilion on March 11, 2023. We take that oath [to uphold relevant federal, state, and local laws] seriously and can’t break laws, regardless of our personal opinions on a topic.” morally acceptable.

In preparation for the event, The city provided many different forms of public safety measures in case there was any escalation or violence. Surrounding communities provided police presence and surveillance systems were installed earlier in the week.

On the day of the event, people attending the rock-n-roll celebration began to arrive shortly before noon. However, the memorial event was infiltrated with dozens of protesters from around the community and even some traveling from neighboring locations.

Amongst the protesters, more prominent groups came out of the shadows. Neo-Nazis showed up wearing full-face masks, waving flags with swastikas on them, and screaming homophobic slurs and chants.

He believed that he was providing a family event to support the mindset of equality and others believed that introducing the children to drag queens at the event was putting them in immediate danger.

Despite all of the threats and fighting that occurred, Reed’s resilient attitude toward making sure the event took place led him to apply for a permit in one of the city’s public venues. The city sat on the permit approval for a while before approving it.

After finalizing the permit the city released a statement to the public condemning

The signs that were being used by these Nazi groups were filled with messages saying “White Lives Matter,” “There Will Be Blood,” and “[Children] and F****** Don’t Mix, Drag Yourself Away From Kids.”

Reed asked for all the silent people to use their voice in support of his cause, and to draw attention away from the hate given at the event.

“Stand up to all the bigotry, hate, and violence, that our community is suffering at the moment to stand as a community alongside and in front of our LGBTQ friends, family, and neighbors and tell them that they do belong in public spaces and around children and to be as much of a part of our society as anyone else,” Reed said.

Throughout the day the protests proceeded with the persistent continuation of backlash from attendees.

By the end of the event, several people were arrested for usage of pepper spray, using a flag pole as a weapon, and wielding threatening objects disguised as guns at the crowds.

After the event, Reed wrote on Facebook page that this event will happen again in the years to come.