A state Republican lawmaker in New Hampshire must cut checks for a combined $200,000 to two drag queens to settle accusations that he defamed them for falsely calling one a sex offender and claiming the other danced with children in a sexual manner.
State Rep. David Love must pay $100,000 each to Robert Champion, who uses the stage name Monique Toosoon, and Michael McMahon, who uses the stage name Clara Divine. Love must also apologize under the terms of the deal, which was agreed to Thursday.
Love, who represents the Rockingham 13 district. made the comments in 2022 as he introduced legislation to require public libraries to conduct background checks on every staffer and volunteer, according to The Boston Globe. His reasoning: concerns over library events that included drag queens.
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The lawmaker told a state house committee that one drag queen was a "convicted sex offender" and another was seen "rubbing butts" with children.
Love said in a statement to media outlets under the deal that he failed to vet inaccurate information that he'd received.
“After being provided with inaccurate information, information that I failed to verify, I publicly accused Robert Champion aka Monique Toosoon of being a registered sex offender and Michael McMahon aka Clara Divine of ‘rubbing butts’ with children,” Love said in the statement, according to The Washington Post. “... I have since learned that those assertions were completely false. I wish to publicly retract those statements and apologize to Robert and Michael.”
The settlement comes as drag queens face increased targeting from right-wing groups and individuals.
In California, the chair of the Moms for Liberty chapter went viral in a video clip harassing drag queens in the lobby of a Hawaiian hotel.
The targeting has led to the creation of a new political action committee in which some of the biggest names in drag have tried to push back against anti-LGBTQ legislation and politicians. The PAC has begun a campaign to raise money ahead of the November election. The PAC, aptly named Drag PAC, was formed in March.
