Two protesters crashed Friday night’s production of Shakespeare in the Park Julius Caesar, which depicts the assassination and brutal stabbing of a stand-in for President Donald Trump.
Laura Loomer, formerly of Project Veritas, rushed the stage shouting “Stop the normalization of political violence against the right! This is unacceptable!” An announcer halted the production and boos from audience filled Central Park’s Delacorte Theater.
Meanwhile, Jack Posobiec — who posted video footage of the protest on Twitter — began calling concertgoers Nazis and implied that performances of the play, which began in late May, were connected to leftist James T. Hodgkinson’s shooting attack on Republican lawmakers Wednesday, shouting: “The blood of Steve Scalise is on your hands!”
https://twitter.com/jackposobiec/status/875884114280423428
Loomer also posted a first-person-style video of herself rushing the stage Friday night.
Julia Caesar meets Laura Loomer https://t.co/THlerwmODp
— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) June 17, 2017
She was reportedly charged with disorderly conduct and trespassing, and, according to her social media accounts, was released shortly after her arrest.
I'm out of jail, but I'm not apologetic. Thanks to everyone who is supporting me & condemning political violence. https://t.co/QkZkxu1yCj
— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) June 17, 2017
Loomer later thanked those who had donated to her legal defense fund.
The Public Theater posted a statement to Twitter Saturday blaming the incident on “paid protesters.”
“While we are champions of the first amendment, this interruption unfortunately was part of a paid strategy driven by social media,” the message read.
Statement from @PublicTheaterNY after a protester stormed the stage during tonight's production of Julius Caesar: pic.twitter.com/YsrCZCD2p1
— Kurt Chirbas (@kchirbas) June 17, 2017
The Public Theater’s production of Julius Caesar has caused national controversy over the bloody scene in which a Trump-like character — complete with blond hair and a business suit and red tie — is stabbed to death. The resulting backlash against the play has led companies, including Delta Air Lines and Bank of America, to pull funding from the theater.
What’s more, New York City’s Public Theater has reportedly received nearly $30 million in federal, state, and city grants since 2009, according to data published by OpenTheBooks CEO and Forbes contributor Andrew Andrzejewski.
Friday’s was the first protest of the play, which ends production on Sunday.
Follow Jerome Hudson on Twitter: @JeromeEHudson
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.