Terrifying fire bomb attack on donut shop that hosted drag show
An unidentified person smashed in the door of the Donut Hole in Tulsa, Oklahoma before throwing a Molotov cocktail inside the business. (Instagram/@thedonuthole)
An Oklahoma donut shop was firebombed by an unidentified thug after the business hosted an art show featuring drag queens.
Surveillance footage from the attack showed a suspect wearing a red hat, black clothing and face mask smashing the door of the Donut Hole in Tulsa, Oklahoma with a baseball bat.
The unidentified person was then seen on video lighting and throwing a Molotov cocktail inside the business at around 2:30 on Monday (31 October) morning. The person also left a letter with anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric on the door of a neighbouring business, according to News On 6.
It’s the second time the Donut Hole was vandalised in recent weeks after the shop hosted an art installation featuring drag queens. Earlier in October, another vandalism incident was reported in which the shop’s door was smashed along with a window.
The Donut Hole shared surveillance footage from the recent attack in a post on Instagram, writing they were “lucky the damage was minimal”.
The owners explained the event was an “one-time art show” centred around “donut sculptures that the artist wanted to hold in an actual donut shop for the full immersion”. They choose to be the venue for the art installation, but they said they are “still just a regular donut shop” at the end of the day.
“Early this morning we caught this person on video smashing our window again, and this time tossing in a Molotov cocktail,” the owners said.
They continued: “At this point this isn’t only effecting our small business, but every other locally owned and operated small business connected to us – all of which also have the actual business owners in house daily, and had absolutely nothing to do with the event.
“We are lucky the damage was minimal and none of our other business owner friends connected to us were effected.
“Our hearts are broken that they could have also been hurt. Our hearts are broken that someone could even be this hateful to our friends who attended the show to do something like this.”
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A GoFundMe was set up to raise money to repair the damage to the Donut Hole after the vandalism. The campaign said the owner of the shop opened her doors to an “event promoting love and equality” when the first incident happened.
Investigators told News On 6 there is a person of interest in the latest attack, but they have not released any additional information. They said charges for the individual could include arson and endangering human lives.
The incident comes as right-wing groups and pundits have increasingly targeted LGBTQ+ events across the US, including family-friendly drag shows.
In October, Republican lawmakers introduced a nationwide ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill, which would restrict education on LGBTQ-related topics in schools.
Conservative lawmakers across the US have also proposed legislation that would ban minors from drag performances. Texas Republican Bryan Slaton kicked off filing such attacks this year when he vowed to film a bill that would ‘protect’ kids from drag shows and other so-called “inappropriate displays”.
