Those volunteers are the Parasol Patrol, a grassroots effort founded in 2019 after a spate of protests when Mile High Comics began hosting Drag for All Ages events at its legendary warehouse. Parasol Patrol cofounder Eli Bazan was at that first event and saw fewer than a dozen protesters. But still, with people yelling about grooming and pedophilia, Bazan felt compelled to protect the kids there by giving them earmuffs and shielding them from the protesters with umbrellas.
Bazan's partner and cofounder of Parasol Patrol, Pasha Ripley, says the number of protesters at each drag event at Mile High kept increasing, so they recruited helpers via social media. "With only eight days' notice, we had over 100 people turn out," Ripley recalls. "And here they come — the trifecta: Proud Boys, Goyim Defense League, and the Traditional Workers Party. They were a little surprised when the 60 or 70 of them came around the corner and there were a hundred of us, enough to create a wall of umbrellas between the parking area and the front floor."
Since those heady pre-pandemic days, the threat of virulent anti-LGBT protesters at drag and pride events has vacillated. COVID meant the extremist protesters backed off somewhat, and Parasol Patrol lost a number of its volunteers. But now, Ripley says, the threat levels have risen again.
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Parasol Patrol came to a drag queen story time event in Arvada a couple of weeks ago and found members of the white nationalist extremist group Patriot Front lined up to protest. Last Saturday, at a march protesting the U.S. Supreme Court upholding a Tennessee law banning gender-affirming care for transgender minors, Bazan was bumped by a vehicle and subsequently shoved by its driver.
Patriot Front members line up to protest a drag queen story hour in Arvada.
Courtesy of Parasol Patrol
Ripley says the organization is also hampered financially at the moment, but is really striving to recruit more volunteers.
Despite those setbacks, Parasol Patrol will be present all weekend long at downtown Denver pride events. The group will stage near Youth Alley to protect the young people, and also patrol the celebration. But Ripley points out that Parasol Patrol are not security.
"We're not enforcers of any kind," she says. "We're not protesters or counterprotesters. We're just there to provide a peaceful barrier to keep kids safe. And also to show these kids that their entire community supports them."
Denver Pride kicks off the morning of Saturday, June 28, in downtown Denver and continues Sunday, June 29, with the Pride parade at 9:30 a.m. beginning at Cheesman Park. Parasol Patrol will be present to protect young people.
