NEW YORK — A gold-masked protester busted at a Manhattan drag queen story hour hosted by state Attorney General Letitia James has been charged with misdemeanor assault, police said Monday.
Robert Porco, 53, of upstate Fishkill, was issued a desk appearance ticket and released. The man he allegedly punched in the face did not require medical attention.
Police said the victim had shown up in support of the Sunday morning event at the LGBTQ Community Center on W. 13th St. in Greenwich Village.
Video posted on Twitter shows a small group of protesters, including a man in a Proud Boys sweatshirt, across the street from the center while a much larger crowd of counter-protesters lined the sidewalk to show their support for the event.
At one point, Porco can be seen rattling police barricades before he’s taken into custody. Porco is accused of shoving cameras held by journalists and slapping an activist who supported the event.
“There was at least one community member that was hit in the face,” a witness, who gave her name as LK, told the Daily News.
“It was joyful, there was music, noisemakers, lots of sparkles and a really positive turnout. There were still protesters showing up and screaming profanities and obscenities at the families.”
Police said Porco last May was charged with harassment and disorderly conduct for an egg-throwing incident in Brooklyn. Further details were not immediately available.
Similar family-oriented events have been canceled across the nation in the wake of harassment and threats from anti-LGBTQ groups like the far-right Proud Boys whose leader, Enrique Tarrio, is on trial along with four other members for sedition in connection with the Jan. 6 insurrection.
In September, the Morrisania Library in the Bronx canceled a show starring drag artist Desmond Napoles after the teenage celebrity received hate-filled violent threats.
“It’s not a safe time for the LGBTQ community anywhere,” said LK.
