An Alabama library canceled a Moms for Liberty event two days after Kirk Cameron and Riley Gaines announced they would be attending.
The event was part of the Brave Books “See You at the Library” national event at 300 libraries in 45 states on August 5. The book company aims to offer a Christian alternative to Drag Queen Story Hours.
The Alabama event was set to occur at the Madison Public Library and had been in the works for months. Gaines and Cameron were not originally scheduled to attend but announced the surprise appearance last week.
As news of their attendance began to spread, protesters started threatening to show up at the event in drag.
In a press release, the library’s public relations director Jay Hixon claimed that the event had grown too big for the venue."The Moms for Liberty organization had planned to feature Brave Books in a meeting room at Madison Public Library," the press release stated. "Due to the event’s anticipated attendance increasing beyond the Library’s capacity, the Library will be unable to host the event. Initially, the organizers of the event reported 20 attendees to library officials. On Tuesday, the Library learned that event organizers are now expecting over 300 people, a number that far exceeds any meeting room capacity within the Huntsville-Madison County Library System."
The City of Madison issued a statement about the cancellation as well.
“The City of Madison applies permitting regulations for outside events equally to all groups and organizations. While the initially planned event was suited for the Madison Library’s capacity, the scope of attendees quickly grew. The Moms for Liberty group failed to apply for an event permit in advance, and it was determined that City resources cannot support an event of this size on such short notice. Alternative accommodations have been recommended to the organization to ensure a safe and well attended event.”
Moms for Liberty organizers Emily Jones and Elizabeth Stewart told The Daily Wire that they do not believe the excuse they were given.
“It was a directive on how to manage our group and not the protesters,” Jones, the organization’s Madison County chapter chair, said. “To me, that just indicates that [the police chief] is not interested in making this event go well. He wants it to go away.”
The Wire reports, "As more people began expressing interest in attending, Jones said the library reached out and asked if the organizers needed additional space to hold a bigger crowd. They initially declined, suggesting holding the event outside. However, after local law enforcement confirmed threats of protests from a group out of Birmingham, they were advised to move the event to a private location. But the organization stayed firm on its position to still hold the event in the public space."
In June, Brave Books released evidence that the taxpayer-funded American Library Association has been circulating guidance to sabotage conservative or Christian parent groups from gathering in public libraries on August 5th. 2/ BRAVE Books’ "See You at the Library" event, led by @KirkCameron, was organized to give conservative Christian families an opportunity to meet at public libraries around the country on August 5th as an alternative to controversial children’s drag queen events.
— BRAVE BOOKS (@BraveBooksUS) June 26, 2023
"One ALA director gave suggestions on how libraries could block public meeting room use under the pretext of the space already being taken for other activities," Brave Books wrote in a tweet at the time.
