Anti-Trans Fundraiser Brings Protests, Violence, Arrests To UES: Cops

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — An anti-trans group behind many of the recent anti-drag protests held a fundraiser in a Yorkville comedy club Sunday, attracting protesters and resulting in three arrests, said police.

The group, called "Gays Against Groomers," which activists contend is a front for fueling anti-trans, and anti-LGBTQ+ hysteria, held a fundraiser at the Comic Strip Live, a famed neighborhood comedy club, according to the group's Instagram page.

"Thank you Comic Strip Live!" the post reads. "Support this business."

The Comic Strip Live did not reply to a message Patch left with a club worker seeking comment.

Roughly 50 people, about a quarter of the Comic Strip's full capacity, attended the fundraiser, according to protesters who showed up in nearly equal numbers to support Trans rights.

Protesters with OutFundraiseHate — which raised over $10,000 in a counter-fundraiser in less than 24 hours — took to the streets outside the club to speak out against what they called a bigoted and hateful event.

The fundraising group wrote that "Gays Against Groomers" is "an astro-turfed far-right, anti-LGBTQ group notorious for harassing Queer people and families at Drag Story Hour events, marching alongside Proud Boys and Nazis."

"Gays Against Groomers" has been labeled as an extremist anti-LGBTQ+ group by the Anti-Defamation League and has reported ties to the circles of former president Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

The protesters held signs on the sidewalk and shouted that the event inside the Comic Strip Live was no laughing matter.

Multiple scuffles broke out between the anti-trans supporters and protesters, according to video shot by videographer DataInput and shared on X, the website formerly known as Twitter.

At one point, a supporter of the anti-trans group appears to shove a protester with a white cane, commonly used by the visually impaired, to the ground.

Attempts to demask counter protesters, as occurred in this first video (screengrab included here), also perfectly coincide with an eye gouge, which can have permanent consequences. Link to a news story of a blinding over upset at mask wearing follows: https://t.co/slVu4bZn3E pic.twitter.com/xJIKY2aSkH
— DataInput (@datainput) September 12, 2023

Three people were arrested, including Brooklyn resident David Nieves, who was charged with assault, police said.

Nieves is a well-known presence at the many sparsely attended anti-drag queen story hour protests and was arrested in December and charged with assaulting Council Member Erik Bottcher's neighbor.

Nieves was arrested in 2015 for displaying a gravity knife in public, according to a police spokesperson, and currently faces a harassment charge in Queens Criminal Court, court records show.

The other two people arrested, one protester and one "Gays Against Groomers" supporter, were issued summonses for disorderly conduct, police said.

"The people these venue owners are supporting are the same people attacking queer events like Drag Story Hour, or harassing local queer politicians," said protester Stephanie Fox, 37.

"It’s frustrating that wealthy venue owners host hate groups and events in their clubs," said Fox, "using their wealth to shelter serious fascist organizing in cities that are often themselves havens for marginalized people, especially the queer community."

The historic comedy club filed a failed $3 million defamation suit against Patch, Upper East Site and Council Member Julie Menin in 2022 for reporting on an anti-vaccine mandate post that referenced the Nuremberg trials, which held Nazi leadership and members accountable for their actions during the Holocaust.

A judge dismissed the suit in April.

In a post after the event, the anti-LGBTQ+ group thanked the storied comedy club for "their bravery and courage in hosting our New York chapter launch event."

Protester Christian Molieri said the large amount of cash raised in a single day was proof of the power of their cause.

"What we collaborative community groups did in approximately 4 hours is an uplifting sign that solidarity, trans joy, and true community always prevail over darkness and hate," wrote Molieri.

"Every. Single. Time."

Additional reporting by independent reporter Talia Jane.