All Ages Drag Show Protest in San Antonio, Texas

Protesters gathered outside the Aztec Theatre in San Antonio, Texas on Tuesday night, demonstrating against ‘A Drag Queen Christmas’ event being held inside. The show, open to patrons of all ages, drew scrutiny from some amidst a wider backdrop of all-ages drag event protests across the United States.

Protesters with the group ‘This is Texas Freedom Force’ called for protest outside the venue, and they and others gathered across the street from the theatre on Tuesday. A couple members of Patriot Front, the Log Cabin Republicans, and some religious individuals holding prayer also demonstrated against the event. Several protesters were also armed and open carrying at Tuesday’s demonstration.

Supporters of the drag show event, roughly 4x in number compared to the protest group, rallied outside the venue across the street from protesters. Attendees included some armed members of the John Brown Gun Club, a pro-LGBTQ/antifascist group that also open carries at demonstrations.

Both sides chanted, held speeches and traded criticisms of each other from across the street. San Antonio Police generally kept the groups separated, though a few isolated incidents of individuals crossing to the other side occurred before being quickly separated once again. No arrests or major incidents occurred throughout the night, with both sides remaining peaceful during the demonstrations.

The drag show proceeded inside as planned, and let out around 10:30pm local time on Tuesday.