Editor’s note: This story mentions threats of violence against the LGBTQIA+ community.
When the clock struck noon on Sunday, June 9, patrons were excitedly lined up to get into The Brewtorium in North Austin for its monthly Legendary Drag Brunch — a “fabulous day of fun” marketed online with glamorous photos of four drag queens in glistening crowns and bold, scarlet lipstick.
But the anticipatory mood of the 400 people at the Pride kick-off event quickly turned to fear when the venue got an email that read: “We will bomb the Brewtorium.” In the body, the writer said, “We placed a pipe bomb” at the venue, along with some obscene, derogatory language about the performers.
Everything halted. Venue host Whitney Roberts and show producer TK Tunchez say Austin police sent four officers in, but not the bomb squad. Police said the threat was part of a nationwide “swatting”-style email campaign by an unknown group. (Swatting is a prank call or request of emergency services with the purpose of bringing in a heavily-armed law enforcement presence.) Austin police and the FBI are still trying to determine the source of the scare. Though no bomb materials were found, the brewery posted on Instagram that it opted to close for the day “for the safety of everyone in the building.” (At press time, Austin police had not responded to questions about how many officers were on the scene that day).
“The FBI takes hoax threats very seriously” because they put “innocent people at risk,” the FBI said in a statement at the time.
Despite the threat, Tunchez and Roberts decided the show would go on. In July, the Legendary Drag Brunch returned to Brewtorium. And the queens hit the stage again earlier this month, as they had every second Sunday of the month for more than a year. Yet, months after the bomb threat that upended June’s event, concerns over safety and support from emergency services linger.
The venue host and show producer say they felt officers weren’t properly trained to respond to the situation, weren’t appropriately concerned about protecting the people in attendance — and seem to have already moved on. They say that police should have released an immediate statement about not tolerating hate, shared more transparency about department protocol for sending the bomb squad, and prioritized sending an explosives dog to check the building.
“I was very disappointed,” music producer DJ KICKIT told The Barbed Wire. “The cops did show up, (but) did nothing more than what I had already done, which was walk the space around to see if anybody looked suspicious.”
“There was no dogs, there was no bomb squad, there was no firefighters, nothing,” she said.
At the time, the department released a statement saying officers “checked the business for anything suspicious but they found nothing. No suspects were seen, and no arrests were made.”
Organizers told The Barbed Wire that it took days before they were able to meet with Austin’s Chief of Police, Robin Henderson. They did finally get an explosives dog to inspect the building before the next drag brunch in July, but Tunchez said that felt, at best, like an afterthought.
“Never in my wildest dreams did I expect that we were gonna have a bomb threat,” said the event’s host, Kelly Kline, who in advertisements for the event wore brown and blond curls, a lace yellow gown, and a large cherry-red flower. “I was like, ‘Oh, shoot, this is real, like this is freaking happening.’”
“In my opinion, too much of the decision-making process about whether it was safe to continue the event was left up to us (civilians) who had no understanding of pipe bombs, the areas of the building to search & other similar threats that had already occurred in other parts of the U.S. during Pride Month,” said Whitney Roberts, CEO & Co-Founder of The Brewtorium Brewery & Kitchen, in an email.
To those impacted, the bomb threat felt less like a singular incident than a sign of an increasingly dangerous environment, thanks to worsening anti-LGTBQIA+ politicians and policy in Texas and dozens of state bills targeting their rights.
“Our queer community isn’t safe here,” Tunchez said in a phone interview. “I think hand-in-hand with the legislative ways that our state actively threatens and does not support the LGBTQIA community — in particular, trans folks and the drag community — this was just one more way that I saw a failure to support, protect, or care for our people, and it hit me really, really hard.”
Texas lawmakers filed 160 anti-LGBTQIA+ bills in 2023, the most in history according to Equality Texas, an advocacy group focusing on LGBTQ+ rights. (Texas was responsible for more than 20% of the 500 anti-such bills that were introduced in state legislatures nationwide.) Seven of those bills became law, including one banning drag shows, which was later deemed unconstitutional.
The bomb threat also coincides with an increase in anti-drag attacks in 2023, according to a report from GLAAD. This year, similar threats disrupted a theater festival in Florida, as well as Drag Queen Story Hours in Pennsylvania and San Francisco.
“It just feels like every month there’s something new that we’re being attacked for living in Texas in particular,” Tunchez added. “There is a piece of me that feels defiant and like middle fingers up to all these people that need to act out towards us and what we’re doing, and it gives me more fire to keep going as a producer.”
The event — dubbed the Legendary Drag Brunch and Frida Friday ATX market by Las Ofrendas — features an all star drag cast, world-renowned DJs, and booths with stickers, incense, candles, tarot, and art. It’s like any other farmer’s market, except that it’s specifically focused on highlighting creators of color, including Black and Indigenous artists, as well as creators who are Latine, along with queer artists. Tunchez said these are the groups that are often overlooked and underpaid in Austin.
The show producer called it absurd that someone would respond with hate to a mission of joy, laughter, and community.
“Immediately anger came up, and (the bomb threat) was almost like a photo flash memory of many moments in my life, personally, where I was threatened, where I wasn’t welcomed, even in family spaces. I brought up a lot of old trauma,” DJ KICKIT remembered as she was getting ready to play some cumbias tracks — a folkloric genre and dance with roots in Latin America, including Colombia and Mexico.
The anger was echoed by other queer creatives. Tunchez called the police handling of the threat “really harmful,” and said she communicated that to the police chief directly, adding, “I don’t think that they understood that in this situation, they really needed to try to build trust.”
“Two things came to mind,” added Kline. “They’ve destroyed our show, people are not going to come support anymore, because when you put fear, people think about not coming again, and then the biggest thing that I’ve felt, was pissed off because for so many years, I fought for so many things, to support and to advance and to have a better future for the LGBTQ plus community.”
The Legendary Drag Brunch isn’t going anywhere. The show continues every second Sunday of the month at the Brewtorium in Austin, with participant support at an all-time high.
“Oh, absolutely, they thought that (we would shut down forever) — they thought!” Kline said. “But I’m not the ‘Wonder Woman of Drag’ for no reason. I have literally had people jump me before for who I am. I’m not scared of anyone.”
Organizations like Equality Texas have connected with event organizers to help ensure their safety, and now, The Brewtorium is releasing a Tropical Fruit Double IPA later this month in honor of Austin Pride Month and in response to June’s bomb threat, which will be called “Big Gay Beer!” A portion of proceeds will go to the Veterans for Equality, a volunteer-led organization that has stepped in to help guard their drag events.
“I think it made us stronger, to be honest with you, it definitely made us stronger,” DJ KICKIT said.
Still, there’s anxiety.
“Our communities don’t feel safe here. I mean in Texas,” Tunchez added. “I mean even in Austin. The glossiness of living in a progressive city is only actualized when there is institutional support, that when push comes to shove, you see that, ‘Oh yeah, you’re actually protected.’ And that just isn’t what seems to be happening. And that, to me, was very alarming.”
In a statement to The Barbed Wire, Austin police said: “We strongly condemn all forms of crime, especially those which are bias-motivated or showing of discrimination. Our department is committed to keeping our community safe and inclusive for all. We will continue to work to ensure that our community is a place where everyone feels valued and respected.”
But Kline doesn’t think that’s enough.
“Don’t just tell us you love us. Show us — because it’s so simple, yet so powerful,” Kline said.
Editor’s Note: If you’re seeking mental health support for LGBTQIA+ youth, call or text the Trevor Project’s 24/7 support line at 866-488-7386. For peer support run by and for trans people, call the Trans Lifeline at 877-565-8860. You can also call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
