Despite a cancellation request from the Chester Township police chief, the Community Church of Chesterland is sticking by its drag events this weekend.
The church is hosting a drag story hour event Saturday afternoon and partnering with a Chardon restaurant, Element 41, for a drag brunch Saturday morning.
In a Thursday morning statement, Chester Township Police Chief Craig Young said his department, the Chardon police department and the Geauga County Sheriff’s office discussed the concerns regarding both drag events this weekend.
Young recommended the church cancel its drag story hour event, which is open to people of all ages, due to safety threats that Young said he could not disclose. The church was the victim of an arson attempt last weekend.
“The recommendation was not made without forethought and consideration of all current intelligence information available. As law enforcement officials, we cannot ignore the event coordinators' own assessment and concerns for potential violence at an event focused on children,” Young said in the statement.
His recommendation was solely about safety, Young said, and not the contents of the events.
"Absolutely not. Not even close. It has nothing to do with that. Again, I fully support the ability for individuals to have private events such as this," Young said. "This is based on a totality of information we've received and the possible threat of violence."
The church said in a statement that it would not be canceling the event.
"Instead of asking us to hide, perhaps they could tell the hate groups not to come," the statement reads.
The church expressed disappointment in Young's unwillingness to share more details regarding the threats.
"They cited heightened tensions on social media around drag queens and trans issues — something we all live with everyday. They cited the concern for violence after the shooting in Nashville. They cited the presence of hate groups, but again — couldn’t point to any direct, specific threats," the church's statement reads.
Element 41 owner Paul Mendolera said Chardon police have not reached out to him with a request to cancel the brunch, which is only open to people 18 years and older.
The church's statement criticized law enforcement for discussing the cost of police protection for this weekend's events.
"We understand these hate groups use financial terrorism as a tactic to force police agencies to take sides in situations like these; but choosing the side of the outside hate groups instead of members of this community they are sworn to protect sets a dangerous precedent for future targeted acts like these," the statement reads.
Both the church and the restaurant have been on the receiving end of threats and bigoted harassment for weeks regarding the drag events.
Social media posts and calls to the restaurant and church suggest that the event will be met with anti-drag protesters, including the Proud Boys, a far-right extremist group.
Earlier this week, Mendolera read off a list of threats and complaints he received by way of email, phone or social media regarding the drag brunch.
“Somebody else said that, ‘100 people will be protesting your restaurant with our concealed carry permits in hand,’” Mendolera said.
In a Facebook post, the church asked people to refrain from counter protesting.
“We desperately wish to communicate to well-meaning supporters and community members that they should stay home if they are not coming to our events with a ticket. We are grateful for the support but we do not want anyone to be harmed by potentially violent hate groups,” the post reads.
The church also included other asks, including fundraising, to help pay for security and for support by joining a vigil at Chardon Square Thursday at 7 p.m.
Young respects the decision to keep the events going, he said, and the department is dedicated to protecting anyone from harm during the events.
