The neo-Nazi group “Junge Tat” has committed itself to the action. Several reports have been received by the police about the incident.
A lecture by drag queens took place in the dance house.
It should have been a joyful experience for the children. On Sunday, the Tanzhaus Zürich organized a reading session, in which various drag queens performed. The idea behind the event: teach the children diversity, inclusion and tolerance, show them different gender identities and role models.
However, the event was disrupted by a far-right group. Nine neo-Nazis blocked the Fahr-Weg monastery in front of the dance hall, lit smoke torches and chanted slogans. Others wanted to unfurl a banner in the event room, but were prevented from doing so.
According to one of the drag queens involved, Brandy Butler, the far-right group mingled with the audience and attended the event for over an hour before starting the disruption. “I will not allow fascist ideology to affect my life or work,” Butler wrote on Instagram.
When the Zurich city police arrived, the perpetrators were no longer on site. The families had already left the Tanzhaus. “We have received several reports in this regard and are currently investigating,” says a spokeswoman for the city police on request.
The right-wing extremist group “Junge Tat” has announced the action on Instagram and Twitter. The organization consists mostly of very young men and is active in social networks. On the net you can find professionally made videos or pictures of the members with balaclavas. The group seems to be enjoying increasing popularity – at least as far as their open Telegram channel is concerned. In January 2021 it still had 3800 members, but now there are already over 6000.
In recent months, the neo-Nazis have made headlines with various homophobic and racist actions. At Pride in June, members of the Junge Tat disrupted a service. On May 1, three neo-Nazis climbed onto a construction crane on Helvetiaplatz and fixed a banner there.
In the latest case, the Tanzhaus has filed a complaint. “The event, the artists and not least our guests were massively disturbed and frightened,” it writes in a statement. And further: «We condemn this action in the strongest possible terms. The Tanzhaus Zürich is and will remain a place of encounter, openness, tolerance and artistic freedom.»