On Monday, LGBTQIA+ nonprofit the GLO Center cancelled its programming for the day after their executive director, Aaron Schekorra, found threatening messages scratched onto bullets outside their headquarters. One said “DIE,” and the other had a slur for queer people on it. Bullet casings with messages etched on them were found after the fatal shooting of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk and have been the subject of much speculation. The news threw into question whether GLO would go forward with Pridefest on C-Street, a public fundraising event scheduled for this Saturday. But on Tuesday, the organization announced on social media that they would be moving forward with the festival.
"There was no suggestion from law enforcement that we cancel our event on Saturday," Schekorra told KSMU. "So, once we talked to all the folks involved… we felt confident that we had all the pieces in place to still be able to put on a really great event while maintaining everybody's safety."
In addition to private security, the event will have off-duty police officers (a requirement for events on city property), volunteers trained in de-escalation, and road barricades on the borders of the event area.
"Historically, we've not ever really had big security issues at our events," Schekorra explained. "We've had protestors – some of those are from groups that we consider hate groups – but we've not actually had any incidents that are the kinds of things that we're worried about, given the threat."
Still, GLO leadership hired extra security guards and spent time having intentional conversations with city law enforcement — "more out of an abundance of caution than anything," in Schekorra's words.
Nevertheless, one performer and about a dozen vendors have chosen not to participate in the event. Schekorra said that most of these were family-run businesses who weren't comfortable having their child or teen at the event but couldn't run the booth without them.
"We completely understand," he added. "That's the purpose of us being so transparent with this information, so that way everyone has what they need to make the decision about what's best for them and their family."
Pridefest on C-Street will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. this Saturday. The GLO Center had no updates on the ongoing investigation into the bullet incident.