Bomb Threat Forces Cancellation Of Somerville Drag Storytime Event

SOMERVILLE, MA — Somerville's "Drag Queen Story Hour" at Somerville's public library was canceled Saturday afternoon after a bomb threat, according to City Council President Ben Ewen-Campen.

The event, which was set to take place from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the Central Library's auditorium, promised "a fabulous afternoon of storytelling" for kids ages 4-8 by the Boston chapter of Drag Story Hour.

A small number of women protesters with signs claiming the event would "desensitize" children to "predatory" behavior showed up alongside more than 100 supporters, video shared on X shows.

But despite the detractors being outnumbered, a bomb threat forced the library to evacuate and the event to be canceled, reports in Boston.com and WCVB say.

"I am beyond outraged that a Somerville drag story time today had to be canceled because of a bomb threat called into the public library," Ewen-Campen wrote on X. "Bigoted right-wing cowards are stooping to new lows every day but we’ll never let them steal our joy."