Local LGBTQ community members said they suspect that the intended target of the attacks was a drag show, which the perpetrators hoped to disrupt by cutting off electricity to the venue.

True show business tradition, however, the show went on as scheduled, with attendees lighting the stage with their cell phones.

A December 3 Drag Story Hour on Staten Island, New York, also went on as scheduled despite the presence of menacing right-wing protesters. In fact, the event's organizer, Yun-Hee Proffit, told NPR that the protest only reinforced their determination to promote acceptance and inclusivity.

According to the Staten Island Advance, the protest was organized by local artist and right-wing activist Scott LoBaido, who previously had disrupted an event featuring US Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY).

More than 50 members of the far-right white nationalist groups Proud Boys and Patriot Front marched in the streets of Columbus, Ohio, also on December 3. They were protesting a local school's Holi-Drag Storytime event, in which three drag performers were to read children books and sing holiday songs. School officials at Red Oak Community School decided to cancel the event, citing safety concerns.

"The world is getting more and more unsafe for the LGBTQ community. The attacks are constant and getting worse," Red Oak Community School manager Cheryl Ryan told NPR.

"The fact that we are not able to successfully host this simple event shows the extent of the damage. We have to do better."

On December 4, a drag show brunch in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, was canceled in response to a bomb threat. News13 TV, a local TV station, received an email threatening to blow up the restaurant where the event was to be held. The TV station notified police, who evacuated the venue.

In the email to News13, the sender said: "We have placed several bombs in the Mr Fish Restaurant, 6401 N Kings Hwy. We are not terrorists [who] hurt children which is why you have this warning to evacuate."

"You b——- are all child abusers and will all burn in hell," it said. "This event is grooming children. For all of human history its [sic] been known that the innonence [sic] of children should be preserved, you are scarring the future generations with your perverted fantasizes [sic]. You deserve to die and we will kill all you f—— for preying on children."

Kate Ellis, president of GLAAD, told NPR that these and similar threats to drag shows are attacks on LGBTQ culture.

"So, drag has long been a place of joy, of protest, of expression," she said. "It is really an art form. And it has been a sacred space, actually. It's been a place where we have gathered as family, as friends. And it's been a place of joy. And now it's a place of terror, quite frankly.

"It really has changed dramatically in a very short period of time."