In May, drag performer Mx. Tara Byte showed up at bbgb, a childrens bookstore in Richmond, Virginia, to read picture books to kids, play games, and help children with crafts projects. Like other drag queen story hours at libraries and bookshops around the country, it was a family-friend event with age-appropriate activities which is why the staff at bbgb was surprised to see the store become a target just months later.

That was the first time we received hate and backlash from groups in the public, Angie Zhao, the stores events coordinator, said of preparing for the stores Halloween-themed story time. It was really jarring for us. We were getting hateful messages.

In the preceding months, right-wing culture warriors had become increasingly obsessed with banning books with LGBTQ themes from schools and libraries, claiming they were actually pornography, and falsely smearing drag queens as people who engage in child sexual abuse. The result has been an increase in protests, threats and attacks, and drag queen story hour fun now usually comes with a side of security concerns and preparation.

The shop followed guidelines from the national Drag Queen Story Hour organization: Dont engage with hate messages. Make sure you know your exits. Get the support from your community.

The rule of thumb is really to have no engagement at any level, Zhao said. Its not even worth it, but there are a few times where you have the urge to write back.

Protesters showed up to the Halloween story hour, and police monitored the situation. Bookstore staff consider themselves lucky that the hateful messages didnt escalate to violence.

There was a lot of talk, but not a lot of follow-through, said Jill Stefanovich, the stores owner. They said stuff like, Lets send 200 real men to shut this place down, Youre grooming kids, and Youre reading pornography to kids.