UpRising Bakery Drag Show: Man charged with vandalizing cafe that planned to host drag performance
LAKE IN THE HILLS, Illinois - Lake in the Hills police said Saturday that Joseph I. Collins is under arrest for vandalizing the UpRising Bakery and Cafe, which had planned to host a drag show on Saturday night.
Collins, 24, of Alsip, was spotted by a police officer from another jurisdiction near the scene early Saturday morning, police said. The cafe's windows were smashed and hate messages were spray painted on the building.
Collins is facing felony hate crime and criminal damage to property charges.
UpRising Bakery and Cafe had been getting online and in-person threats since the announcement of the July 23 drag show, police said. Lake in the Hills police said they had looked into the matter, and into claims on social media that children would be targeted sexually, and found "no nudity or sexually explicit content is planned to be part of the event."