Proud Boys, pro-confederate protesters show up to Sanford LGBTQ+ event after organizers face death threats online

Lindsey Knapp, organizer for the event at Hugger Mugger Brewing, told WRAL News the event has been highlighted by hate groups online.

She said she received a "significant amount of resistance for hosting this event," including death threats.

"The most vocal groups claim that we are pedophiles and that they are going to show up guns and shoot us," she said.

Knapp said she reported the death threats to the local police.

She said she started to face backlash after her event was targeted by the TikTok account called "LibsofTikTok," which claimed that the Halloween drag brunch had a Satanist as a performer. This was untrue, she said.

According to people at the scene, around 16 Proud Boys showed up to the event, many wearing bullet proof vests. After they arrived, pro-confederate protesters showed up along with other people holding signs with Bible verses on them.

“This is very concerning to us because we’ve gotten some death threats and things like that,” said Knapp.

It was an event meant to uplift the LGBTQ+ community. Knapp said the LGBTQ+ community was labeled and called hurtful names.

“When they call us things like pedophiles and things like that what that does is it allows folks in the community to give them selves permission to use that extremist view to perpetrate violence upon our community,” said Knapp.

Aside from name-calling, the white supremacist group marched around with signs, recruiting people at one point and taking selfies with other supporters.

Knapp said the event received support from the community and she did not want the event to be overshadowed. She is calling on other surrounding communities to show support.

“Maybe not just Sanford, but other communities that are in our state [can] really stand up and make a statement that this is not ok and this is not acceptable," said Knapp. "Our LGBTQ+ community deserves to live their lives without the threat of death.”

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According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, the Proud Boys are "white nationalists and neo-Nazis." They describe themselves as "Western chauvinists."