Police say charges laid in hate-motivated crime after drag storytime disturbance

Calgary police say a 36-year-old man is facing two charges in what they are calling a hate-motivated crime.

Police say protesters disrupted a Reading with Royalty event last weekend at the Seton Library in the city's southeast.

The family-friendly storytimes at public libraries are led by local drag queens or kings, and children are invited to dress in their best outfit, cape or crown.

Officers were called around 11 a.m. on Feb. 25 for reports that several people had aggressively entered a library classroom, shouting what police described as "homophobic and transphobic slurs" at the children and parents in attendance.

Derek Scott Reimer has been arrested and charged with causing a disturbance and mischief.

Police say hate-motivated crimes are those where an offender was motivated by bias, prejudice or hate based on personal characteristics of the victim.

Reimer has also been charged with with six counts of harassment under Calgary's Public Behaviour Bylaw, which prohibits insulting or demeaning behaviour, unwanted sexual advances or harassing anyone on the basis of age, race, sexual orientation, disability, gender, gender identity or gender expression.

Each offence carries a penalty of up to $10,000 and, in default of payment, up to six months imprisonment, the city said in a release.

Following news of the charges, the Calgary Public Library announced it was postponing its Reading with Royalty event at Southwood Library that had been planned for Saturday.  

"We remain committed to our partnership with Calgary Pride and will reschedule the event once we can be sure that we can provide a safe and fun environment for kids and families that wish to attend," the library said in a statement.

The library has been partnering with Calgary Pride to host the Reading with Royalty events for more than five years. It describes the program as family friendly, celebrating "inclusion and imagination through stories and songs." 

"Our role at Calgary Public Library, and the role of libraries everywhere, is to connect community members with diverse ideas, information and opportunities," read the library's statement.