White supremacists terrorise drag queen story event with Nazi salutes: ‘A hate-filled disruption’

Officials in the US state of New Hampshire are investigating the presence of neo-Nazis at a drag queen story event at a cafe on Sunday (18 June).

Footage from the event showed at least a dozen people outside the Teatotaller cafe, in state capital Concord, dressed in beige pants and black t-shirts or hoodies, with hats and scarves covering their faces to hide their identities.

They are seen making Nazi-style salutes while chanting, and one is seen banging on the window of the cafe.

The video was shared on social media by drag queen Juicy Garland, who hosts story time events at the cafe. “We’ve got some verified Nazis today. Golly, I didn’t order those,” she wrote.

We've got some verified Nazis today! Golly, I didn't order those pic.twitter.com/3VvIZbCerd

— Juicy Garland (@JuicyGarland) June 18, 2023

In response to various comments, Garland said she held story hours at the cafe monthly and that on Sunday: “We prevailed and had a great time with the families anyway.

“It’s not great to deal [with] Nazis on Sunday morning, but the Concord families I got to hang out with and read with were still awesome and kind.”

She added that “most importantly”, the children at the event had fun and weren’t scared or aware of any problems “thanks to adjustments we made”.

Emmett Soldati, who owns the cafe, also tweeted, saying drag shows and story hours had been hosted at Teatotaller for a decade.

“We’re going to host them for decades to come,” he vowed, adding that the cafe was not deterred “despite this hate-filled disruption”.

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A post shared by Teatotaller (@teatotaller)

In a statement to New Hampshire Public Radio (NHPR), Concord Police identified those protesting as members of white supremacist group NSC (National Socialist Club) 131.

Police said no arrests were made, but that the group has not been an “ongoing problem” in the city and was not known to gather publically in the area.

New Hampshire Department of Justice spokesperson Michael Garrett told the outlet that the department’s civil rights unit was aware of the incident and was “actively working with police and our law enforcement partners to look into it further”.

NHPR reported that this isn’t the first time Teatotaller, which advertises itself as a “queer hipster oasis”, has been targeted for its LGBTQ+-oriented events, with people linked to the Proud Boys protesting against its first drag story hour in November.