Corinna Sac, the owner of UpRising Bakery and Café in Lake in the Hills, a town northwest of Chicago, had announced on Facebook Saturday’s sold-out “late night brunch” event, which was to feature performances by three drag venues. queens and a raffle, along with the cafe’s standard brunch offerings.
Drag brunch events usually feature drag queens performing (singing, lip-syncing, and dancing) as live entertainment during the brunch.
Shortly after midnight Saturday, officers with the Lake in the Hills Police Department were notified of “criminal damage to property in progress,” the department said in a news release. Upon arrival, police arrested a suspect, who was charged with a hate crime and property damage. Both charges are Class 4 felonies, according to the police news release.
Sac said he ran to the cafeteria and three windows and a door were broken and “there was graffiti on the side of our building on the brick walls,” which included hate speech.
“When I first saw it, I started crying. That was my reaction. I just started crying. I was scared, I was hurt, I was angry, I was disgusted and I was a little worried that my employees they might have been here or I’ve seen him too, so I contacted them and luckily they’d already gone home.”
The police department said the cafe’s owner had previously reported in-person and online threats to the business and that the department had reported protests and counter-protests in response to the lunch.
“The Police Department is dismayed that this has happened in our town, remains steadfast in our commitment to public safety and has zero tolerance for crimes against all members (of) our community,” police said in the statement. communicated
The incident comes just weeks after the Proud Boys crashed a Drag Queen Story Hour at a California library. Dragging performances have come under fire from conservative politicians and activists in recent months. Family events such as Drag Queen Story Hour, in which drag queens read to children at public libraries in an effort to promote literacy and compassion, or the family brunch that UpRising had planned, have received special attention.
In June, Florida Republican state Rep. Anthony Sabatini proposed legislation to prevent children from attending drag shows.
Sac has praised the response of the police to the incident and the controversy surrounding the event. “They’ve been so amazing working with us, working with the community, working with the protesters and counter-protesters,” Sac said. “I can’t give the police department more credit.”
And although Saturday’s show has been postponed, Sac plans to organize another event.
“We will not back down from this bullying and harassment,” he said. “What they are doing is unacceptable and we will not back down.”
“We’ll show them that this might have stopped us for a day, but we’re a force to be reckoned with.”