Aug. 4 (UPI) — Florida’s Republican Attorney General James Uthmeier is demanding guest lists, surveillance footage and personal information from people who attended a drag Pride event in Vero Beach on June 29, according to Scott Simpson, organizer for Qommittee, a national volunteer network defending drag artists’ rights.
The group says that no laws were violated in the event, and Florida’s statewide “drag ban” has been blocked by federal courts. But state officials are “weaponizing existing laws to bully, intimidate, and surveil our community,” Simpson said.
Simpson’s group has publicized Floridians’ rights and called for organizing.
“This is serious government overreach designed to intimidate drag performers into silence,” he said. “They want performers to stop performing. They want venues to stop booking drag shows. They want our community to stop gathering and celebrating who we are…