Gays Against Groomers

Gays Against Groomers (GAG)[1] is an American far-right[2][3][4] and anti-LGBT[1][2][5][6] organization known for campaigning against gender-affirming care for minors,[2] protesting school curriculum content with LGBT themes,[7] and criticizing Drag Queen Story Hour events.[8]

Gays Against Groomers
FormationJune 2022 (2022-06)
FounderJaimee Michell
PurposeFar-right politics, anti-LGBT propaganda
Location
  • United States
SubsidiariesTrans Against Groomers
Websitewww.gaysagainstgroomers.com

GAG began in June 2022 as a Twitter account created by Jaimee Michell,[8] who had previously been employed by right-wing communications firms Arsenal Media and X Strategies and posted similar content on her personal account. The account is known for posting anti-trans rhetoric and has been compared to Libs of TikTok.[8][1] Michell filed incorporation papers for GAG in September 2022. GAG has been banned from multiple social media and payment platforms for violating rules on hate speech;[9] the group has been promoted by right-wing media outlets such as Fox News,[1] One America News Network (OANN),[1] and InfoWars.[6]

A spokesperson for the LGBT advocacy group GLAAD has claimed that the group uses the slur "groomer" along with ambiguous messaging to perpetuate the LGBT grooming conspiracy theory.[1][10] GAG helped organize an anti-LGBTQ rally in Florida that was attended by other far-right and anti-LGBTQ organizations such as Moms for Liberty and the Proud Boys.[1][11]

History

GAG was founded by Jaimee Michell, at the time a content creator and lead designer at marketing company Arsenal Media, a conservative media organization specializing in creating viral content.[7] Before the creation of the Gays Against Groomers account, Michell had a history of sharing far-right content across multiple platforms on personal social media accounts.[8] Michell's website featured examples of her work for conservative candidates and activists.[8] Michell had previously served on the advisory board of Donald Trump's "Trump Pride coalition" and described Trump as a "pro-gay" politician. Leading up to the 2020 United States presidential election, Michell was involved in the "Stop the Steal" movement.[12][13]

GAG's Instagram account was created by Michell on June 6, 2022.[14] The Twitter account described GAG as a "coalition of gays against the sexualization and indoctrination of children", with the purpose "to protect children from harm being done in our name and by those who have hijacked our community".[8] The Twitter account gained 90,000 followers in a few months.[9] In September 2022, Michell filed incorporation papers for GAG.[7] The group also launched a partner coalition called Trans Against Groomers.[15] Michell has denied that anyone is funding the account.[8] GAG's application for tax exemption as a 501(c)(4) non-profit was approved in March 2023.[16]

By August 2022, Twitter had suspended and reinstated the social media account four times.[9] Before Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter, the website's rules prohibited the use of "groomer" as an insult based on gender identity or expression under their hate speech policy.[17] GAG responded by using code terms such as "broomer"[18] and "gr__mer" and changing its screen name to "Gays Against Grewmers".[9]

When Elon Musk bought Twitter, GAG reverted to its old name and tweeted "OK GROOMER".[19] The group also purchased a verified badge.[20] In October 2022, the account directly thanked Musk.[20] A report from the Human Rights Campaign found that retweets of the GAG Twitter account's posts using the word "groomer" had grown by 300% when comparing the two months before and after Musk's purchase.[4]

According to the Southern Poverty Law Center "GAG leadership, including the group's director of chapters Mario "Presents" Estrada, has been tied to the hate group the Proud Boys, members of which have previously rallied with GAG's Florida chapter leadership."[21]

Alejandra Caraballo, a clinical instructor at Harvard, described GAG as "a conservative funded propaganda account to push the groomer libel".[8] In response, GAG used Caraballo's name as a discount code in connection with the sale of anti-trans merchandise.[22]

In September 2022, PayPal and Venmo banned the group from raising funds on their platforms due to their acceptable use policies.[22] GAG continued to use the fundraising platform Donorbox.[22] Also in September 2022, GAG stated that it had been banned by Google.[23]

Activities

Protests and rallies

In September of 2022, the Castro Valley (California) Unified School District approved a student-initiated plan to paint Progress Pride flags on every school in the district.[24] In response, Gays Against Groomers announced their California chapter would attend a protest of the school board meeting on social media, and encouraged others to join.[25] A protestor interviewed by ABC7News denied they were trying to foster a non-inclusive environment, saying, "I feel like we've been forced to talk to our kids, our young children especially about things we aren't ready to talk to them about".[24]

Also in September 2022, the Miami-Dade School Board was considering declaring October LGBTQ+ History Month. The Board had made a similar declaration the previous year.[26] Before the school board meeting, Gays Against Groomers had trucks drive around the city claiming the district teaches "radical gender ideology."[26] The truck was also parked outside the board district meeting during the vote.[27] Ultimately, the Board decided against declaring October LGBTQ+ History Month due to concerns that a declaration would conflict with the state’s Parental Rights in Education law.[27]

On December 3, 2022, a "Protect the Children" rally[11] was held in Fort Lauderdale, Miami.[1] It was organized by GAG, and it featured Moms for Liberty and Florida Fathers for Freedom.[28] Antifa protestors planned to attend, requesting attendees bring "masks, signs, and rage".[28] Jordan Toste was one of the scheduled speakers.[11] Both the rally[11] and the counterprotest were attended by elected officials.[29] Equality Florida Senior Political Director Joe Saunders claimed that high school student Jack Petocz organized the counter protest and was taunted with the words "Where's Jack"?[29] Equality Florida blamed such rallies on Governor Ron DeSantis' anti-LGBT politics and rhetoric.[29]

Legislative advocacy

On August 19, 2022, Michell told OANN that GAG was working toward a federal ban on gender-affirming care for minors.[18]

In January 2023, the head of the Arizona chapter of GAG, Robert Wallace, voiced his support for Arizona Senate Bill 1001, which would prohibit teachers and school officials from using a student's preferred pronouns without written parental permission if those pronouns do not match the student's gender assigned at birth. It would also permit school employees to ignore pronoun preferences if doing otherwise would violate their "religious and moral convictions".[30] GAG was cited by Arizona lawmakers in support of Arizona Senate Bill 1030, which targets drag performances.[31] Similar legislation restricting drag performances had been introduced in at least 11 states as of February 2023.[32]

In January 2023, Ryan Woods, a drag artist also known as Lady MAGA USA, spoke on behalf of GAG in support of a ban on gender-affirming care for minors in Utah. Woods asserted that children were being groomed. Detransitioner Chloe Cole also spoke in favor of the bill.[33]

Harassment of individuals

On December 19, 2022, gay New York City Councilmember Erik Bottcher, who was targeted by Gays Against Groomers, was taunted and harassed at his office and later at his home. His office was vandalized, the lobby of his apartment was broken into, and anti-gay slurs were left graffitied on his sidewalk.[34] GAG members also protested against a Drag Story Hour event in Jackson Heights alongside Proud Boys and members of the neo-Nazi Goyim Defense League.[35][34]

Also in December 2022, GAG retweeted footage of Rep. Katie Porter which had been doctored to claim she supported pedophilia. Porter had spoken out against the use of Twitter to falsely label people as pedophiles.[4]

Appearances in conservative and far-right media

In an August 2022 interview with OANN, the group's founder compared gender-affirming care to the experiments on Auschwitz prisoners by the Nazi SS doctor Joseph Mengele. Writing in LGBTQ Nation, Alex Bollinger criticized these comments, noting that the Nazis destroyed Magnus Hirschfeld's Institute of Sexology, which "did pioneering work on understanding LGBTQ identities, including transgender people".[36]

On November 8, Michell blamed the Colorado Springs nightclub shooting – where a gunman killed five people, including two trans people, and injured over a dozen more – on gender-affirming care. Appearing on Tucker Carlson Tonight, Michell called the shooting "expected and predictable", saying that "I don't think [the violence is] gonna stop until we end this evil agenda that is attacking children".[37] Brandon Wolf, a survivor of the Orlando nightclub shooting and press secretary of the LGBTQ+ rights group Equality Florida, described Michell's comments as "a crystal clear threat: 'The mass murders will continue until you do as you're told'".[38]

Analysis

Them.us has described GAG as a "Great Value version of the notoriously toxic Libs of TikTok".[39] Columnist Wajahat Ali has accused GAG of fueling stochastic terrorism (the public condemnation of a group that leads to violent acts against the group).[38]

According to GLAAD, GAG characterizes "LGBTQ+ people as pedophiles falsely and maliciously with the absolutely clear intent of driving fear", perpetuating the LGBT grooming conspiracy theory.[10] Describing GAG as "an anti-LGBTQ+ extremist coalition", the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has explained that "any person who pushes false claims and conspiracy theories about all or parts of the LGBTQ+ community" is an anti-LGBTQ+ extremist, "regardless of how they personally identify".[1]

References
  1. "Online Amplifiers of Anti-LGBTQ+ Extremism". Anti-Defamation League. January 24, 2023. Archived from the original on February 7, 2023. Retrieved February 7, 2023.
  2. Gomez, Gloria Rebecca (February 17, 2023). "GOP anti-drag bill would send performers to prison for up to 10 years". Arizona Mirror. Archived from the original on March 3, 2023. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  3. "'Live Laugh Lesbian': Target's cheeky Pride collection strikes again". NBC News. May 20, 2023. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
  4. Mackey, Robert (December 16, 2022). "Emboldened Right-Wing Activists Spread Lies About Rep. Katie Porter on Twitter". The Intercept. Archived from the original on January 30, 2023. Retrieved February 7, 2023.
  5. Burga, Solcyre (March 5, 2023). "Here's the Status of Anti-Drag Bills Across the U.S." Time. Archived from the original on March 18, 2023. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  6. Owen, Greg (December 6, 2022). "Wisconsin school board member sues over new sex-ed curriculum". LGBTQ Nation. Archived from the original on February 7, 2023. Retrieved February 7, 2023.
  7. Salgado, Beck Andrew (October 28, 2022). "Right-wing activist groups targeted a recent Wauwatosa School Board meeting. They're 'just getting started.'". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Archived from the original on October 28, 2022. Retrieved February 7, 2023.
  8. Goforth, Claire (June 29, 2022). "Is 'Gays against Groomers' the new Libs of TikTok?". Daily dot. Archived from the original on February 7, 2023. Retrieved February 7, 2023.
  9. Goforth, Claire (August 25, 2022). "Why does Twitter keep suspending, reinstating Gays Against Groomers?". Daily Dot. Archived from the original on February 7, 2023. Retrieved February 7, 2023.
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  11. Owen, Greg (December 26, 2022). "Gays Against Groomers spars with counter-protestors during its anti-LGBTQ+ rally in Florida". LGBTQ Nation. Archived from the original on February 7, 2023. Retrieved February 7, 2023.
  12. Gingerich, Mia (February 7, 2023). "Grifter Gays: How conspiracy theorists and right-wing operatives created Gays Against Groomers". Media Matters for America. Archived from the original on February 12, 2023. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
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  20. Cameron, Dell (November 11, 2022). "Elon Is Re-Verifying Neo-Nazis and Selling Blue Checks to QAnoners". Gizmodo. Archived from the original on February 7, 2023. Retrieved February 7, 2023.
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  23. Daugherty, Eric (September 21, 2022). "Gays Against Groomers Banned by Google After PayPal, Venmo, 'Massive Attack on Our Organization'".
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  28. Vecerina, Michelle (December 2, 2022). "ANTIFA Plans to Counter-Protest 'Protect the Children' Rally".
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