Three people arrested after protest groups, police clash outside Fort Worth drag show
Three people were arrested after a clash involving protest groups and police officers outside a drag show in Fort Worth on Sunday afternoon, according to police records and videos posted on Twitter.
Police did not comment Sunday on anything that led to the detentions during a protest and counter-protest outside the event. Police released a statement and video Monday evening. See the latest update here.
Jail records show that three counter-protesters were arrested: Samuel Fowlkes, 20, on suspicion of four counts of assault, assaulting a peace officer and resisting and evading arrest; Christopher Guillott, 33, on suspicion of assaulting a peace officer and interference with public duties; and Meghan Grant, 37, on suspicion of interference with public duties and resisting arrest, search or transport. The three remained in the Tarrant County Jail on Monday.
The incident happened outside a drag show brunch at Fort Brewery and Pizza, at 2737 Tillar St. The venue declined to comment Sunday.
Videos and statements on Twitter indicate the three people arrested were with the Elm Fork John Brown Gun Club, an organization that often describes itself as a group of defenders and whose members are regularly found countering protesters at drag shows.
The club describes itself on Twitter as “helping marginalized communities in organizing community defense against white supremacists / fascism.”
At the event Sunday, organization Protect Texas Kids, whose Twitter account says its purpose is to “expose kid-friendly drag shows, child transitions, and leftist indoctrination in the state of Texas,” was protesting against the drag show.
Protect Texas Kids and New Columbia Movement, another anti-LGBTQ organization whose members were at the drag show to protest it, accused a member of the gun club of pepper-spraying anti-drag protesters while they were praying. Police said Monday evening that video confirms that.
The John Brown Gun Club on Twitter has accused police of “attacking drag defenders” and practicing poor muzzle discipline with long rifles, pointing loaded guns at club members.
In one video, a Fort Worth police officer says, “Cool, I flagged all of y’all,” after counter-protesters accused him of pointing his gun at them. The video seemed to show the officer, possibly inadvertently, aiming the gun at members of the group while slinging it around his shoulder.
Videos posted by groups on both sides of the protest also show police pinning one man to the ground while other officers line up to keep the crowd away. One video shows a woman identified as Grant being pushed and grabbed by an officer after she approaches police.
Police did not immediately respond to a request for information on whether the department was concerned about officers’ conduct.
“We are gathering all details to provide an update,” a police spokesperson said in an email Monday afternoon.
Members of the Elm Fork John Brown Gun Club have been raising bail money for the release of the three people arrested. Fowlkes was being held on $22,500 bond, Guillott on $9,500 bond, and Grant on $4,000 bond, according to jail records. It wasn’t clear whether they have attorneys.
The groups, frequently with armed people on both sides, have been involved in protests at several other recent drag-themed events across Dallas-Fort Worth.
This story was originally published April 23, 2023 at 6:39 PM.