Drag Show At Air Force Base Canceled After Pentagon Leadership Intervenes

The Pentagon has blocked a U.S. Air Force basal successful Nevada from hosting a resistance amusement this week, according to aggregate news reports.

The lawsuit was acceptable to instrumentality spot astatine Nellis Air Force Base connected Thursday, the archetypal time of Pride month, but the department’s leadership, including Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Mark Milley, the president of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, reportedly interjected and told the Air Force the section could not money the lawsuit connected site.

They allegedly called for the lawsuit to beryllium moved elsewhere oregon beryllium pulled altogether.

CNN reported Thursday’s canceled amusement would person been the 3rd yearly resistance lawsuit to beryllium held astatine the aerial unit base.

Pentagon lawman property caput Sabrina Singh said “hosting these types of events successful federally funded facilities is not a suitable usage of DOD resources.”

“As Secretary Austin has said, the DOD volition not big resistance events astatine U.S. subject installations oregon facilities,” Singh added successful the statement.

“Our Service members are divers and are allowed to person idiosyncratic outlets,” Singh continued.

The lawsuit had been advertised arsenic a “family-friendly show” with nary minimum property request for attendees.

Coco Montrese, a resistance queen who was acceptable to execute successful Thursday’s event, told 8 News Now she was “shocked and disappointed” by the decision.

“I performed successful the precise archetypal resistance amusement connected the Nellis Air Force basal a fewer years ago, but precocious the attacks connected the LGBTQ+ assemblage are getting louder and louder,” she said successful a statement.

Montrese continued: “Creating a communicative by definite actions is careless due to the fact that actions bash talk louder than words. This action, 24 hours earlier the lawsuit would instrumentality place, is simply a wide message. I deliberation we each cognize what that connection is.”

Pride events, including resistance performances, person travel nether onslaught by Republicans crossed the state who person pushed authorities restricting the shows. Most recently, Texas passed a measure that resistance performers interest could beryllium usage to ace down connected their shows, according to The Associated Press.

In March, right-wing Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) had questioned Austin and Milley astir resistance queen communicative hours taking spot astatine subject bases during a House Armed Services Committee hearing.

“Drag shows are not thing that the Department of Defense supports oregon funds,” Austin said.

Gaetz subsequently wrote to Austin and Milley successful May to petition accusation connected Pride events scheduled astatine subject installations, including the resistance amusement astatine Nellis Air Force Base.

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