Three people arrested after protest groups, police clash outside Fort Worth drag show
Three people were arrested after a clash involving protest groups and police officers outside a drag show in Fort Worth on Sunday afternoon, according to police records and videos posted on Twitter.
Police have not commented on anything that led to the detentions during a protest and counter-protest outside the event. Jail records show that three counter-protesters were arrested: Samuel Fowlkes, 20, on suspicion of four counts of assault, assaulting a peace officer and resisting and evading arrest; Christopher Guillott, 33, on suspicion of assaulting a peace officer and interference with public duties; and Meghan Grant, 37, on suspicion of interference with public duties and resisting arrest, search or transport. The three remained in the Tarrant County Jail on Monday.
The incident happened outside a drag show brunch at Fort Brewery and Pizza, at 2737 Tillar St. The venue declined to comment Sunday.
Videos and statements on Twitter indicate the three people arrested were with the Elm Fork John Brown Gun Club, an organization that often describes itself as a group of defenders and whose members are regularly found countering protesters at drag shows.
The club describes itself on Twitter as “helping marginalized communities in organizing community defense against white supremacists / fascism.”
Videos of police detaining people who came out to defend a drag show at Fort Brewery and Pizza in Fort Worth have been shared by @EFJBGC and by the anti-LGBTQ group "Protect Texas Kids." @fortworthpd will not comment on why, said it's "being investigated."pic.twitter.com/LP0k4cfcfp
— steven monacelli (@stevanzetti) April 23, 2023
At the event Sunday, organization Protect Texas Kids, whose Twitter account says its purpose is to “expose kid-friendly drag shows, child transitions, and leftist indoctrination in the state of Texas,” was protesting against the drag show.
The John Brown Gun Club on Twitter has accused police of “attacking drag defenders” and practicing poor muzzle discipline with long rifles, pointing loaded guns at club members.
In one video, a Fort Worth police officer says, “Cool, I flagged all of y’all,” after counter-protesters accused him of pointing his gun at them. The video seemed to show the officer, possibly inadvertently, aiming the gun at members of the group while slinging it around his shoulder.
Videos posted by groups on both sides of the protest also show police pinning one man to the ground while other officers line up to keep the crowd away. One video shows a woman identified as Grant being pushed and grabbed by an officer after she approaches police.
Here's a clip of a video shared by Protect Texas Kids which shows the other angle of the first video. They claim the person who was arrested here "violently assaulted" the police. I'll let you all watch and decide for yourselves. I've clipped this video for fair use commentary. pic.twitter.com/btcz1B4krw
— steven monacelli (@stevanzetti) April 23, 2023
Police did not respond to a request for information on whether the department was concerned about officers’ conduct or about why the three people were arrested.
“We are gathering all details to prove an update,” a police spokesperson said in an email Monday. A police report on the incident was not available Monday.
Protect Texas Kids and New Columbia Movement, anti-LGBTQ organizations whose members were at the drag show to protest it, accused members of the gun club of pepper-spraying anti-drag protesters while they were praying. Authorities have released no information about whether they believe that claim is true.
Members of the Elm Fork John Brown Gun Club have been raising bail money for the release of the three people arrested. Fowlkes was being held on $22,500 bond, Guillott on $9,500 bond, and Grant on $4,000 bond, according to jail records. It wasn’t clear whether they have attorneys.
The groups, frequently with armed people on both sides, have been involved in protests at several other recent drag-themed events across Dallas-Fort Worth.
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