By WECT<\/p>\n
Wilmington, N.C. A Wilmington library that was celebrating Pride month with a reading was disrupted by Proud Boy demonstrators Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The Southern Poverty Law Group has designated the Proud Boys as far-right extremists and a hate group.<\/p>\n
Some of the families in the library said they were frightened by the protest.<\/p>\n
\"I definitely felt very unsafe, though,\" said Emily Jones.<\/p>\n
A Pride story-time event at Pine Valley Library on Tuesday started peacefully. But parents said it quickly turned chaotic and filled them with fear when a handful of Proud Boys showed up in the window of their event room.<\/p>\n
\"They're doing that on purpose, for sure, to intimidate people,\" said Jones.<\/p>\n
Jones was inside with her 1-year-old daughter. She said she takes her daughter to the story-time events often and was especially excited for this one, but her excitement quickly turned to panic.<\/p>\n
\"When a group of known violent people ... at that point, when those people show up, and they're coming into the library and trying to disrupt the story time, that's when I felt unsafe,\" said Jones.<\/p>\n
The New Hanover County Sheriff's Office had deputies at the event to prevent the Proud Boys from entering the room.<\/p>\n
Angie Kahney was in the hallway when the demonstrators walked in. She said the group was loud and disruptive.<\/p>\n
But in a statement, the sheriff's office said there was no disturbance.<\/p>\n
\"They were yelling obscenities about how their tax money was being spent on pornography and drag queens. There was shouting. It was loud their attempt was to intimidate and create a disruption, and that's exactly what they did,\" said Kahney.<\/p>\n
\"They definitely disturbed us,\" said Jones.<\/p>\n
The sheriff's office said because it's a public place, there was no need for the Proud Boys to be removed. The sheriff's office declined an on-camera interview with WECT, but did release a statement from Sheriff Ed McMahon saying he \"took an oath not to uphold opinions but to uphold the law, which is exactly what my supervisors and deputies did.\"<\/p>\n
The Wilmington library said they were aware the Pride reading might create some controversy. Librarians coordinated with the sheriff's office in advance and brought additional staff and volunteers to help.<\/p>\n
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See original here: <\/p>\n
Proud Boys disrupt Pride event at Wilmington library<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By WECT Wilmington, N.C. A Wilmington library that was celebrating Pride month with a reading was disrupted by Proud Boy demonstrators Tuesday. Continue reading