Texas lawmaker on armed Antifa members showing up at 'kid-friendly' drag show: 'They want to intimidate'
Bryan Slaton says children attending drag shows is 'shocking' to many Texans
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A Texas Republican lawmaker said Tuesday on "Fox & Friends First" that a so-called "kid-friendly" drag show near Dallas-Fort Worth was totally inappropriate.
"It's shocking to a lot of Texans and we just need to stop it. We need to let children be children and protect them from any sexualization," State Rep. Bryan Slaton (R) told Ashley Strohmier and Todd Piro.
Masked, black-clad Antifa protesters showed up brandishing weapons at the Sunday morning "drag brunch" in Roanoke.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A masked protester holds a sign that reads "Keep Roanoke Gay" outside Anderson Distillery & Grill in Roanoke, Texas. (@realKrisCruz/Twitter)
Police maintained a presence at the event, which took place at the Anderson Distillery and Grill in Roanoke, Texas, and led at times to tense stand-offs between protesters and counter-protesters.
Approximately 20 children and multiple self-proclaimed teachers attended the event where drag queens performed and collected dollar bills, according to footage of the event obtained by journalist Tayler Hansen
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Armed protesters stand guard outside a drag show at Anderson Distillery & Grill in Roanoke, Texas. (Kelly Neidert)
In June, Slaton introduced legislation that would ban minors from attending drag shows in the state after footage went viral showing children attending a drag show at Mr. Misster, a gay bar in North Dallas.
Slaton said "kid-friendly drag shows" do not exist. He believes that children need to be protected and allowed to have a childhood and prevented from being sexualized at a young age.
"We have porn in our school libraries and there's pushback on removing those. There are the drag queen shows with children, and there's pushback on us for wanting to stop that. Then there's the gender modification of children. And the left is pushing back on that," he added.
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Slaton said it was "alarming" that Antifa members showed up with guns to protect "grown men wearing ladies' underwear that have to dance provocatively in front of children."
"They're protecting that and trying to intimidate those that were there to speak out against it and bring attention to it that way. But, yes, Antifa apparently is getting involved, and you've crossed the line if you want to protect children, and they want to intimidate you."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Slaton lamented a lack of action by law enforcement, including failing to shut down the event for being over capacity according to the local fire code.
Fox News' Jon Brown contributed to this report