Three arrests after drag queen storytelling event on South Shore sparks protest

Three people were arrested on Montreal's South Shore on Sunday after a book reading featuring a popular drag queen sparked a protest.

The storytelling event in the City of Saint-Catherine with Barbada de Barbades moved to a secret location in light of a protest planned by Francois Amalega Bitondo, who is known for planning anti-vaccine demonstrations.

In response, supporters of the LGBTQ2S+ community formed a counter-protest under the banner "Yes to drag queens everywhere."

"You cannot just let people attack your existence to the point where you're no longer allowed to live safely," said trans advocate Celeste Trianon.

"If it were not for the counter-protesters. I would not have felt safe alone, that's for sure," said Trianon. "I was threatened and called a fascist on at least five different occasions in the span of a minute."

Police confirm three people were arrested during the protest and face charges of disturbing the peace.

CTV News reached out to the protest organizer but did not receive a response by deadline.

The City of Sainte-Catherine says the incident shows there is still much work to be done to eliminate discrimination.

The organizer of the counter-protest echoes that concern.

"If people try to cancel that, it's going to cut the bridges between both communities," said Jules Lessard.

Barbada de Barbades has been telling stories to children in Quebec for the last five years. This isn't the first time her events have been interrupted.

Two readings scheduled in the St. Laurent borough libraries last November were postponed because of concerns by borough officials.