A New York City councilmember had his apartment building covered in graffiti after he attended a drag queen story time event for children at a local library.
Erik Bottcher was confronted by demonstrators outside the event on Saturday in Manhattan, and on Monday he said they had attacked his home – an action condemned by the mayor as ‘completely outrageous’.
Bottcher shared photos of the graffiti on Twitter, saying: ‘Tonight the Drag Story Hour protesters came to my apartment building and gained entry. My super called the cops and two of them were arrested for trespassing.’
On the sidewalk was written in chalk: ‘Eric Bottcher is a pedo child groomer’.
New York City Council Member Erik Bottcher (seated on the floor) slammed ugly protests outside a drag queen story hour in Manhattan on Saturday. On Monday, protesters turned up at his apartment building and broke in, with two being arrested for trespassing
The sidewalk in front of his home was graffitied with insults, calling Bottcher a ‘groomer’
The attack is just the latest in a recent spate of violent incidents involving drag queen reading events, which critics say are inappropriate for children.
Bottcher, 42, whose district includes the neighborhoods of Greenwich Village, Chelsea, and Hell’s Kitchen, said he refused to be cowed.
‘This is pure hate, unmasked,’ he said.
‘If they think this is going to intimidate us, they’re mistaken. Our resolve is strengthened.’
Eric Adams, the mayor of New York, said it was shocking.
‘This is outrageous. Completely outrageous,’ he tweeted.
‘Erik, you stand up for our city every single day and these cowardly bigots have no place here.
Bottcher was labeled a ‘child predator’ for organizing the drag queen reading event
‘Thank you to the NYPD for your quick work and sending the message that this hate will not go unchallenged.’
On Saturday, ugly scenes unfolded outside the drag queen reading hour for neurodiverse children – one week after a man was arrested for assaulting an NYPD cop outside a similar event.
Protesters hurled obscenities and slurs outside the event at the Andrew Heiskell Library in the Chelsea neighborhood on Saturday, according to video shared by Bottcher, who was there to support the event.
‘Today I witnessed pure hatred and bigotry outside Drag Queen Story Hour at a public library in Chelsea,’ tweeted Bottcher.
‘Inside, I witnessed a loving and peaceful reading of children’s books to kids.’
In recent months, similar events across the country have drawn increasingly heated protests from groups alleging that they are intended to sexually ‘groom’ young children.
The New York Public Library had billed Saturday’s event as ‘storytime with local drag performers adapted to be more accessible to kids with autism and other disabilities.’
Protesters hurled obscenities and anti-gay slurs outside a drag queen story hour at the Andrew Heiskell Library in the Chelsea neighborhood on Saturday
The library branch where the event took place is dedicated to providing audio books and braille reading material for people who are blind or otherwise physically unable to read standard print.
There were no reports of injuries or property damage at the protest, and no arrests were made by NYPD officers who were on the scene for safety.
The NYPL told DailyMail.com in a statement: ‘A group of protesters attempted to disrupt a Drag Story Hour for neurodiverse children. The story hour went on as planned, including readings, coloring activities and a ‘dance party’ at the end.’
‘Our patrons enjoy Drag Story Hour, and the Library will continue to offer programs that support a diverse array of voices,’ the statement added.
‘This is particularly important at this moment when we are seeing a rise of hate and violence targeting LGBTQ+ communities.’
Video shared by Bottcher shows a crowd of protesters on the street and sidewalk outside the library, holding signs including ‘There are only 2 genders’ and ‘Stop grooming kids for sex’.
‘I want to show you the face of hate, right here in Chelsea,’ Bottcher said in the video.
Protesters opposed to drag queen story hour are seen outside the event on Saturday
Bottcher (left) filmed the protesters (right) outside the library, saying, ‘Today I witnessed pure hatred and bigotry outside Drag Queen Story Hour’
The protesters hurled obscenities at Bottcher as well as count-protesters who stood in front of the library with arms linked.
‘What are you, a pedophile…get the f**k out of here,’ one protester is heard sneering at the council member.
The tense confrontation comes just a week after a man was arrested and charged in an altercation with a cop during similar protests at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library in Midtown Manhattan.
Capatano was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct, harassment, attempted assault and obstructing governmental administration, police said
Catapano was seen beefing with cops as well as the group protesting the drag queen event, though it appears he was not at the library specifically for the event
Chase Catapano, 28, was charged with disorderly conduct, harassment, attempted assault, and obstructing governmental administration.
Catapano was seen beefing with cops as well as the group protesting the drag queen event, though it appears he was not at the library specifically for the event and was swept up into the heated drama.
He appears to be homeless, and his father told the Daily News that he often uses the library’s computers and likely became upset at the disruption due to mental illness.
However, unbeknownst to Catapano, among the mob of protesters were several officers sent to monitor the demonstration, stationed inconspicuously throughout the crowd.
