Drag Brunch Canceled in Port Townsend

PORT TOWNSEND, WA. – A drag brunch scheduled for May 17 in La Cocina’s new space at the Belmont was canceled following online threats, personal phone calls and messages through Square. But the restaurant's owner says the decision wasn't as simple as "giving in to hate."

Cassandra Garay, co-owner of La Cocina, faced intense pressure from anti-LGBTQ+ agitators and, unexpectedly, from the event's own supporters.

‘It wasn’t just because of hate messaging’

The event was set to be hosted by Vertigo, the reigning Miss Rosebud XLVIII and a member of the Port Townsend Pride planning committee. The event was selling well when the Facebook post promoting it drew negative attention from local users, as well as those from other cities. Threats included talk of an "organized militia.”

But Garay says the decision to cancel was complicated.

"It started off as just online comments, but then it did filter into messaging on other business platforms and a few personal cell messages," Garay said. "I couldn't figure out how to allocate any time into dealing with something I didn't know how to handle."

La Cocina recently moved to a new, larger venue that has capacity for as many as 150 people, including staff. "I had no time to figure out a safety plan, find security, review my insurance, and train my staff if something were to escalate. I didn't want an issue to arise without us being prepared."

Garay described the threats as a "non-essential problem" on top of pressing issues like meeting city inspection requirements just to open their doors.

What Garay didn't expect was the backlash from the event's supporters after she canceled.

"I got bombarded with hate messaging from supporters who wanted the brunch. Calling us cowards, saying that we aren't leaders and that we need to stand up to hate," she said. "A general lack of empathy from our community was totally uncalled for because we are anything but cowards."

Garay also revealed a crisis they had been navigating; her wife, the restaurant's head chef, broke her ankle and was facing major surgery on her leg just before opening the new location. 

"My mental health was something I had to account for," Garay said. "I didn't need to explain that I couldn't handle this right now to anyone because I was prioritizing my family's well-being over unnecessary drama. We are human too."

‘It got so out of proportion’

For Vertigo, the harassment is disturbingly familiar.

“This is the second cycle of threats I’ve gotten in Port Townsend,” Vertigo said in an interview. The first time was shortly after moving to the area three years ago, when a Facebook post introducing herself as a performer led to accusations of being a “groomer” and a “pedophile.” At the time, she had just turned 18.

“It’s funny how age 18 is twisted around, depending on what propaganda they want to push,” she said. “You’re 18, you’re stupid. But also, you’re 18 and you’re going to hurt everybody around you.”

The backlash to the brunch was even more intense. “A couple people were talking about creating an organized militia against us. I got called a Satan worshipper,” Vertigo said. “A couple people were talking about how I was a man dressing as a woman for attention, which is funny, because I’m a woman in and out of drag.”

A call to local businesses 

The flyer for the event was posted on Facebook, where it quickly drew negative attention from local users and those from different cities. While the restaurant owners decided to cancel this specific event, they indicated they are not canceling future events.

However, Vertigo expressed frustration with what she sees as a broader lack of support.

“I just wish some more local Port Townsend businesses would step up and do something, instead of all just staying quiet and letting each other get drowned,” she said.

Vertigo’s message for the community is clear: “It’s a really scary time right now. The ultimate way that we’re going to be able to survive is just to push through the negativity. There are measures we can put in place to make sure everybody stays safe. If we just keep not doing anything about it, nothing’s ever going to change.”

A national pattern, reflected locally

The threats that canceled Port Townsend's Drag Brunch are not an isolated incident. Nationwide, anti-LGBTQ+ hate remains persistently high. According to GLAAD's 2025 tracking report, there were 1,042 documented incidents of anti-LGBTQ+ harassment, violence, and threats in 2025 across 47 states—a 5% increase from 2024. June, which is Pride Month, 2025 saw a nearly 400% increase in incidents since tracking began in June 2022. 

Transgender and gender-nonconforming people remain the most targeted group, accounting for 51% of all incidents (532 total), a 10% rise from 2024. Drag performers, while seeing a slight decrease in targeting (down 55% from 2024's peak), still faced 83 documented incidents, including protest threats and venue cancellations.

Washington state tied for fourth-highest number of incidents in the nation, with 50 in 2025, according to GLAAD. Meanwhile, official FBI data lags significantly behind, with only 19% of law enforcement agencies reporting any hate crimes in 2024, meaning the true scale of the problem is almost certainly much larger than the numbers suggest.

Since the administration changed in 2025, the federal government has removed LGBTQ+ questions from at least 360 surveys, according to Williams Institute, making it harder to track these statistics officially.

When the Beacon asked if the Port Townsend Police Department had data on recent LGBTQ+ hate crimes within city limits, only two incidents had been reported in the last three years. 

However, accurate data of LGBTQ+ hate crimes is difficult to obtain due to underreporting. A doctoral dissertation from Walden Academy, published in February of 2026, offers study results explaining the pattern of underreporting. “Findings indicated that chronic exposure to discrimination, anticipated mistreatment, and vicarious experiences of harm reinforced learned avoidance of police reporting.” 

As GLAAD researchers noted, "anti-equality politicians continue to spread lies about LGBTQ+ people," and those smears carry a real-world cost: threats to small businesses, performers, and their families. The Drag Brunch cancellation in Port Townsend is not an outlier. It is part of a troubling national pattern.

A path forward on their terms

Despite everything, Garay says she wants to revisit hosting Drag Brunch in the future—but only when the business is stable and her family can handle it safely.

"We have also gotten a tremendous amount of support from the community and friends," she said. "If others want to help plan and ensure we, as a business, are safe and prepared, I'd be happy to assign a committee to oversee it."

Why are we covering this story:

Hate crimes and harassment often flourish when they are kept quiet. Community safety requires awareness and understanding.

Where did we get our information from:

Information for this story came from interviews with the restaurant owners, the event organizer, and the Port Townsend Police Department Relevant statistics came from GLAAD and Williams Institute, as accurate reporting of hate crimes has been altered at the federal level. 

Our approach to covering hate crimes:

We approached this story carefully to avoid additional harm to the affected parties. Direct interviews and supplementary information bring light to the severity of the incident.