 | The topic of this article may not meet Wikipedia's notability guidelines for companies and organizations .(February 2023) |
| Location | |
|---|---|
Key people | David Nieves |
The Guardians of Divinity are a far-right group based in New York City. [1] [2] The group originally started in opposition to vaccine and mask mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic before shifting their focus in 2022 to protesting in opposition to Drag Story Hour (DSH) events.
The Guardians of Divinity started as an anti-vaccine and anti-mask mandate group during the COVID-19 pandemic. [1] [3] According to a 2023 Institute for Strategic Dialogue report, in about September 2022, the group began to focus on activism against Drag Story Hour (DSH) events, and "Since then, the group has orchestrated 21 anti-drag events (averaging 3 events a month), 16 of which have ended with verbal or physical clashes between Guardians of Divinity and either counter-protestors or event attendees." [4] : 11–12
On social media, they claim Drag Story Hour events are "grooming" children, [5] and have used social media to promote content from groups such as Libs of TikTok and Gays Against Groomers, as well as QAnon conspiracy and COVID-19 vaccine disinformation. [4] : 12 Unicorn Riot reported the Guardians of Divinity website was hosted in an account managed by Paula Grooms, and the website was down after comment was requested, but Unicorn Riot found an archived version. [6] David Nieves, who also goes by "King Jesus", is a leading member. [5] [6]
Independent reporter Talia Jane began posting about the group on Twitter in September 2022, and in January 2023 said the group had targeted ten DSH events in NYC. [3] According to The New York Times in December 2022, the group has "shown up at several Drag Story Hour events in Jackson Heights, Queens." [1]
On October 18, 2022, they disrupted a community forum hosted by Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. [1] On December 7, a group of about 20 anti-DSH protestors reportedly organized by Guardians of Divinity protested a bilingual DSH event at the Midtown New York Public Library. [7]
On December 29, a group estimated to include "more than two dozen members" of Proud Boys and Guardians of Divinity demonstrated outside of a DSH event at the Jackson Heights Library, and were counterprotested by an estimated 150 DSH supporters, [5] including Jews For Racial and Economic Justice. [3] Police worked to keep the protesters and counterprotesters on opposite sides of the street, and the DSH event in the library was not disrupted. [5]
On February 24, 2023, Nieves and another individual with a Guardians of Divinity sign were part of a small anti-DSH protest outside of the Jackson Heights branch of the Queens Public Library, which consisted of about six to ten anti-DSH protesters, and was met by about 100 counterprotesters outside who supported the DSH event in the library. [8] [9]
Alex Stein, a Blaze TV host, promoted Nieves at one event. [10]
A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have usually been gay men, and have been a part of gay culture.
Brian Raymond Tamaki is a New Zealand Christian fundamentalist religious leader, and politician. He is the leader of Destiny Church, a Pentecostal Christian organisation which advocates strict adherence to fundamentalist biblical morality. Tamaki has been involved with various fringe political parties and movements, and since 2022 he has led the Freedoms New Zealand party. A perennial candidate, he has run for office several times but has yet to be elected.
Unicorn Riot is a decentralized, nonprofit, left-wing media collective that originated online in 2015. The group is known for reporting on far-right organizations and sources of racial and economic injustice in the US. The non-hierarchical media organization operates in the US cities of Boston, Denver, Minneapolis/St. Paul, and Philadelphia as well as in South Africa. They produce live streams of political rallies and protests and are funded by viewer donation and grants.
Patriot Front is an American white supremacist and neo-fascist hate group. Part of the broader alt-right movement, the group split off from the neo-Nazi organization Vanguard America in the aftermath of the Unite the Right rally in 2017. Patriot Front's aesthetic combines traditional Americana with fascist symbolism. Internal communications within the group indicated it had approximately 200 members as of late 2021. According to the Anti-Defamation League, the group generated 82% of reported incidents in 2021 involving distribution of racist, antisemitic, and other hateful propaganda in the United States, comprising 3,992 incidents, in every continental state.
Drag Queen Story Hour (DQSH), Drag Queen Storytime, Drag Story Time, and Drag Story Hour are children's events first started in 2015 by author and activist Michelle Tea in San Francisco with the goals of promoting reading and diversity. The events, usually geared for children aged 3–11, are hosted by drag queens who read children’s books, and engage in other learning activities in public libraries.
Super Happy Fun America (SHFA) is a Massachusetts-based right-wing political organization. SHFA and its leaders are known for their ties to white nationalism and the far-right, and the organization has been described by The Daily Beast as a front for the far-right organization Resist Marxism. The group first became known for organizing the 2019 Boston Straight Pride Parade, a parade which attracted several hundred participants and thousands of counterprotesters. In addition to rallying in support of "straight pride", the group has opposed COVID-19 prevention measures, vaccine mandates, and Black Lives Matter.
Protests, demonstrations and strikes occurred around the world against national responses to the COVID-19 pandemic by governmental bodies. Some were driven by the financial hardship resulting from government measures to contain the virus, including restrictions on travel and entertainment, hitting related industries and workers hard. Protests also occurred in opposition to restrictions on people's movements, compulsory wearing of face masks, lockdowns, vaccinations and other measures. Some protests were driven by COVID-19 misinformation, conspiracy theories, far-right and other extremist groups and individuals.
There were several COVID-19 protests in New Zealand held during the period of COVID-19 restrictions from 2020 to 2022, where people protested the government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand, in particular the lockdown measures in place in March–May 2020, August 2020, and August–November 2021 and the later vaccine mandates. The protests have been largely condemned by members of parliament, as well as local city and regional councils. Fears were also raised about the protests increasing the spread of the virus.
During the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, numerous protests took place over the government's response.
Simone Melissa Gold is an American doctor and anti-vaccine activist. She is the founder of America's Frontline Doctors, a right-wing political organization known for spreading misinformation about the COVID-19 pandemic. Before her arrest and guilty plea for participating in the 2021 United States Capitol attack, she had gained attention when a video of an America's Frontline Doctors press conference in front of the US Supreme Court Building went viral in July 2020. During the press conference, she touted the supposed benefits of hydroxychloroquine, despite evidence that it is ineffective as a COVID-19 treatment and can carry significant risks.
Erik Bottcher is an American politician from New York City. He is a Democratic member of the 3rd district of the New York City Council, which includes the neighborhoods of Greenwich Village, Chelsea, and Hell's Kitchen.
The 2022 Wellington protest was an anti-mandate and anti-lockdown occupation of the grounds of Parliament House and Molesworth Street in Central Wellington during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The occupation spring boarded off the New Zealand Convoy 2022, a mass convoy of vehicles that made its way from the top of the North Island and the bottom of the South Island to Parliament starting on Waitangi Day and arriving three days later on 9 February. The occupation lasted just over three weeks. At its peak, the protest spread over a large area of Thorndon and into Pipitea with approximately 1,000 participants. Protesters blockaded areas around the parliamentary grounds with their vehicles and occupied the lawn and surrounding areas in tents. Some associated with the protests harassed bystanders, and disrupted local businesses. The protest was forcibly ended by police on 2 March 2022, and the protesters had none of their demands met by the Government.
Counterspin Media is a far-right, anti-vaccine, and conspiracy theorist New Zealand online media platform that was founded in May 2021.
The convoy to Canberra was an anti-vaccine mandate protest in Australia between late January and mid-February 2022 that was inspired by the Canadian Freedom Convoy protest. Thousands of protesters converged on the Australian capital city of Canberra, camping near the Australian Parliament, National Library and the National Press Club. As with the Canadian protest, the Canberra protest was organised through various social media platforms including Facebook, Telegram, GoFundMe, and GiveSendGo. By 13 February, most of the convoy protesters had dispersed after local authorities moved them in preparation for the Royal Canberra Show.
Libs of TikTok is a handle for various far-right and anti-LGBT social-media accounts operated by Chaya Raichik, a former real estate agent. Raichik uses the accounts to repost content created by left-wing and LGBT people on TikTok, and on other social-media platforms, often with hostile, mocking, or derogatory commentary. The accounts promote hate speech and transphobia, and spread false claims, especially relating to medical care of transgender children. The Twitter account, also known by the handle @LibsofTikTok, has nearly 3 million followers as of February 2024 and has become influential among American conservatives and the political right. Libs of TikTok's social-media accounts have received several temporary suspensions and a permanent suspension from TikTok.
Nationalist Social Club-131, or NSC-131, is an American neo-Nazi organization; the numbers 131 are an alphanumeric code for "Anti-Communist Action". It was founded in 2019 in eastern Massachusetts by Chris Hood, who had previously tried other neo-fascist groups such as Patriot Front, the Proud Boys, and the Base. The group first attracted the attention of anti-extremism researchers during the George Floyd protests in mid-2020, which NSC-131 members hoped to leverage to increase their recruiting. Along with Patriot Front, NSC-131 is one of the most active white nationalist groups in New England as of 2022.
The notion that LGBTQ people, or those supportive of LGBTQ rights, are engaging in child grooming and enabling child sexual abuse is a far-right conspiracy theory and anti-LGBTQ trope. Although the belief that LGBTQ individuals are more likely to molest children has no basis in fact, this stereotype has existed for decades in the U.S. and Europe, going back to before World War II.
TJB 2021 Limited, more commonly known by its trade name Voices For Freedom (VFF), is a company with a special interest in the anti-vaccine movement in New Zealand. VFF was formed in December 2020 to oppose the New Zealand Government's COVID-19 response and vaccination rollout. Despite its non-profit appearance in communications, VFF is registered as a limited liability company and is not legally recognised as a non-profit entity.
Gays Against Groomers (GAG) is an American far-right and anti-LGBT organization known for campaigning against gender-affirming care for minors, protesting school curriculum content with LGBT themes, criticizing Drag Queen Story Hour events, and opposing LGBT representation in children's media. The group also opposes trans women competing in women's sports and being allowed in women's spaces, pride events where children are present and brands marketing to LGBT people during Pride Month.
Drag panic is a moral panic that stems from the belief that exposure to drag, especially for minors, can be harmful, due to its perceived sexual nature. Drag panic has motivated protests and attacks against the LGBTQ+ community by extremist groups, and often includes the belief that all-ages drag performances are attempts by the LGBTQ+ community to sexualize or recruit children.