The Guardians of Divinity are a

far-right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of bein ...

group based in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

. The group originally started in opposition to vaccine and mask mandates during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

before shifting their focus in 2022 to

protesting A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration or remonstrance) is a public expression of objection, disapproval or dissent towards an idea or action, typically a political one. Protests can be thought of as acts of cooper ...

in opposition to Drag Story Hour (DSH) events.

Activities

The Guardians of Divinity started as an

anti-vaccine Vaccine hesitancy is a delay in acceptance, or refusal, of vaccines despite the availability of vaccine services and supporting evidence. The term covers refusals to vaccinate, delaying vaccines, accepting vaccines but remaining uncertain abou ...

and anti-mask mandate group during the

. According to a 2023

Institute for Strategic Dialogue The Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) is a think tank founded in 2006 by Sasha Havlicek and George Weidenfeld that specialises in research and policy advice on hate, extremism, and disinformation. It is headquartered in London, United ...

report, in about September 2022, the group began to focus on activism against Drag Story Hour (DSH) events, and "Since then, the group has orchestrated 21 anti-drag events (averaging 3 events a month), 16 of which have ended with verbal or physical clashes between Guardians of Divinity and either counter-protestors or event attendees." On social media, they claim Drag Story Hour events are " grooming" children, and have used social media to promote content from groups such as

Libs of TikTok Libs of TikTok is a far-right, anti-LGBT Twitter account owned by Chaya Raichik, a former real estate agent. The account spreads false claims and hate speech, especially relating to medical care of transgender children. It reposts content crea ...

and Gays Against Groomers, as well as QAnon conspiracy and COVID-19 vaccine disinformation.

Unicorn Riot Unicorn Riot is a decentralized, nonprofit, left-wing media collective that originated online in 2015. The group is known for reporting on far-right organizations and sources of racial and economic injustice in the US. The non-hierarchical medi ...

reported the Guardians of Divinity website was hosted in an account managed by Paula Grooms, and the website was down after comment was requested, but Unicorn Riot found an archived version. David Nieves, who also goes by "King Jesus", is a leading member. Independent reporter

Talia Jane Talia Jane (born Talia Ben-Ora in 1990 or 1991) is an American writer and labor activist. They are known for bringing attention to minimum wage compensation across tech companies in the San Francisco Bay Area. Education and career Jane attende ...

began posting about the group on Twitter in September 2022, and in January 2023 said the group had targeted ten DSH events in NYC. According to ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' in December 2022, the group has "shown up at several Drag Story Hour events in Jackson Heights, Queens." On October 18, 2022, they disrupted a community forum hosted by Representative

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (; ; born October 13, 1989), also known by her initials AOC, is an American politician and activist. She has served as the U.S. representative for New York's 14th congressional district since 2019, as a member of ...

. On December 7, a group of about 20 anti-DSH protestors reportedly organized by Guardians of Divinity protested a bilingual DSH event at the Midtown New York Public Library. On December 29, a group estimated to include "more than two dozen members" of

Proud Boys The Proud Boys is an American far-right, neo-fascist, and exclusively male organization that promotes and engages in political violence in the United States.Far-right: * * Fascist: * * * * * Men only: * * * Political violence: * * * It has ...

and Guardians of Divinity demonstrated outside of a DSH event at the Jackson Heights Library, and were counterprotested by an estimated 150 DSH supporters, including

Jews For Racial and Economic Justice Jews for Racial and Economic Justice (JFREJ) is an American left-wing non-profit grassroots Jewish organization. JFREJ describes itself as a "movement to dismantle racism and economic exploitation" and is based in New York City. It operates bot ...

. Police worked to keep the protesters and counterprotesters on opposite sides of the street, and the DSH event in the library was not disrupted. On February 24, 2023, Nieves and another individual with a Guardians of Divinity sign were part of a small anti-DSH protest outside of the Jackson Heights branch of the Queens Public Library, which consisted of about six to ten anti-DSH protesters, and was met by about 100 counterprotesters outside who supported the DSH event in the library. Alex Stein, a Blaze TV host, promoted Nieves at one event.

References

External links

* (archived website) {{DEFAULTSORT:Guardians of Divinity Far-right organizations in the United States Organizations based in New York City Anti-vaccination organizations American anti-vaccination activists Anti-drag sentiment Organizations that oppose LGBT rights in the United States