Texas cops protect 'family' drag event hosted by Episcopal church

Police in Southlake, a Dallas suburb, patrolled a “family” drag pride event held Saturday at St. Martin-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church in Keller, Texas, amid protests.

The event, called Pride Kel-So, was the first pride festival held in the Fort Worth suburb. It was organized by April and Shaina Dreyer, who also operate an event planning business and partner with a Dallas LGBT nonprofit. The couple coordinated with the LGBT-affirming church to host the festival on church grounds.

According to the Dallas Morning News, organizer April Dreyer estimated that roughly 700 people attended the event, which featured more than 100 vendors.

“This is what community’s supposed to be like,” said Rector Alan Bentrup, who leads St. Martin-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church. “This is what church is supposed to be like. This is what God’s love is supposed to be like.”

The event drew protests from local residents and officials. Police were seen patrolling the event, driving motorcycles on the sidewalk near the protesters.

Keller Mayor Armin Mizani publicly criticized the festival, saying on X that the city does not condone it.

“Though promoted as ‘family-friendly,’ the event’s musical acts and programming suggest an agenda aimed at exposing children to inappropriate, highly sexualized content. That’s unacceptable,” Mizani said in a statement.

Tarrant County GOP Chair Bo French also condemned the event, pointing to the scheduled performance of a drag queen and transgender-identifying individual known as Madame Lexica, who ultimately did not perform. French said that the performer “has a history of threatening violence against conservatives and mocking Christianity in grotesquely obscene ways.”