Drag story hour at library canceled after suspicious package and threats, authorities say
LANCASTER, PA — LANCASTER, Pa. (AP) —
A planned “Drag Queen Story Hour” at a Pennsylvania library that had drawn opposition was canceled Saturday after a suspicious package was found in the building and two blocks were evacuated after threats were reported, authorities said.
Police evacuated the Lancaster Public Library after the package was found. A state police bomb squad later cleared the library, but police said “additional reported threats were still being investigated.” Residents of the block and another nearby were told to evacuate, an order lifted several hours later.
A city spokesperson later told LancasterOnline that a dog alerted the package and the contents were later found to be “benign,” but “we subsequently received additional written threats via email.”
Lancaster Pride, a nonprofit organization that honors the city’s LGBTQ+ community, posted a message on social media that the “Drag Story Hour with Miss Amie” had been canceled and said that “the safety and well-being of our community is of utmost importance are important to us. ”
The planned story hour drew passionate opposition from some residents at a meeting of marathon county commissioners Wednesday, the second straight meeting marked by protests from residents after Republican commissioners decried the event as inappropriate, LancasterOnline reported.
Commissioner Josh Parsons wrote that libraries “should be places where children can read and learn safely, not politicized social laboratories for woke ideology.” Commissioner Ray D’Agostino said he thought there was a connection 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 in the plaza adjacent to the library Friday evening across from 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.
Lissa 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 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.”
Christopher Paolini, who was to read in drag as Miss Amie Vanité, said he had just arrived and was getting ready “when the alarm went off.” He called the course of events ‘insane’, LancasterOnline reported.
“It just hurts my heart that it’s gotten to this point,” he said. “I’m not going to stop what I’m doing. This program is too important to too many people.”