Northern Idaho has long been associated with extremist groups, most prominently the Aryan Nations, which was often in the news in the 1990s. But the photograph, from a suburban Minneapolis library in 2019, clearly shows the performer was wearing tan undergarments.Ī spokesman for Hennepin County Library confirmed to The Associated Press that the performer did not expose themselves to children. One photo shared widely on social media this week falsely claimed a “Drag Queen Story Hour” performer flashed their genitals to children while reading aloud. Others have lambasted pride events or drag performances as “depraved." Several posts have falsely sought to label teachers and librarians who accept the LGBTQ community as abusers or groomers of children. The rhetoric has been amplified by right-wing social media accounts that use photos and videos of LGBTQ individuals to drive outrage among their followers. In the same way that it mobilized against Black Lives Matter in the nation's capital in December, the Patriot Front harnesses what’s in the news cycle - in this case, drag queen story hours, disputes about transgender people in schools, and LGBTQ visibility more broadly.Ī “massive right-wing media ecosystem” has been promoting the notion that "there are people who are trying to take your kids to drag shows, there are trans people trying to ‘groom’ your children," Lewis said. Jon Lewis, a George Washington University researcher who specializes in homegrown violent extremism, said outrage directed at LGBTQ people had been growing for months online, often in chat rooms frequented by members of groups like the Patriot Front. Thomas Rousseau, a 23-year-old from Grapevine, Texas, who has been identified by the Southern Poverty Law Center as the Patriot Front founder and was among those arrested, did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment. As of Monday afternoon, online court records did not show if the men had retained defense attorneys. The defendants were booked on misdemeanor charges of conspiracy to riot and released on bail. Those arrested came from at least 11 states, including Illinois, Arkansas and Virginia. Police say dozens of men from the white supremacist group piled into a U-Haul truck wearing balaclavas and bearing riot gear, with plans to instigate a riot at the park where families, children and supporters were gathered to celebrate the LGBTQ community.