WARWICK — A few days before last Sunday’s annual Pride celebration in this bucolic town in southwestern Orange County, residents began noticing a new set of signs that seemed to promote the event. They appeared similar to the official promotional imagery: an illustration of two people standing beneath a rainbow in a field of flowers, their arms around each other, with the words “COMMUNITY=LOVE” splayed across the top.
But there were two crucial differences. On the new signs, one of the two people in the field had been shrunk to appear childlike next to their companion. And a banner across the bottom of the sign said the event would “Celebrate MAPS,” which it defined as “minor attracted persons.”
A website and Facebook page that went live around the same time echoed the message that the LGBTQ+ event would celebrate pedophilia. A message posted on both pages read, in part: “Sexuality and sexual identity includes a broad spectrum of beautiful and amazing Warwick citizens, some of which are Trans, Drag Queens, and ‘Minor Attracted Peoples’ (MAPS). For too long, MAPS have been labeled as ‘pedophiles’ by Republicans and White Christian Nationalists. We must work towards real change and be accepting and inclusive of all identities and expressions.”
The identities of the people who falsely equated pedophilia with the Pride event — which was hosted by the Warwick Valley Community Center and the town’s GSA/Living Well Youth Group — remain unknown, according to Warwick police Chief John Rader, who said the incident is under investigation. The police currently have no leads.
“It came 72 hours before the event was supposed to happen, so not a lot of time for us to investigate,” Rader said. He encouraged anyone with information to contact the police department at 845-986-5000.
The website domain — warwickpride.com — was registered anonymously, according to an online database that tracks domain registrations. An email sent by a reporter to the registrant via a proxy email address was not immediately returned. By Tuesday, the website appeared to be taken down.
The fake pages also mentioned the leadership of the Warwick Democratic Party and Elizabeth Cassidy, the Democratic candidate for town justice. The pages thanked them for their support and the efforts to keep LGBTQ+ material in public schools and libraries.
Screenshots of warwickpride.com, a fake website created to spread disinformation about the town’s Pride event. The site was taken down by Tuesday morning.
Provided by Elizabeth Cassidy
Screenshots of warwickpride.com, a fake website created to spread disinformation about the town’s Pride event. The site was taken down by Tuesday morning.
Provided by Elizabeth Cassidy
Screenshots of warwickpride.com, a fake website created to spread disinformation about the town’s Pride event. The site was taken down by Tuesday morning. (Provided by Elizabeth Cassidy)
The incident is the latest in a string of harassment and disinformation campaigns targeting some local Democratic officials and LGBTQ+ allies by what several of those targets feel is a small, yet vocal, group of community members aligned with right-wing organizations, said Christine Stage, chair of the Warwick Democratic Committee.
“Everyone was very upset, but not terribly surprised by it. We’ve been victims of other types of attacks for years,” Stage said.
She cited an “anti-woke” website created to oppose Democratic candidates in the 2021 town elections, a successful effort to drive out a gay trustee on the Village Board, and an effort to force out the openly gay supervisor for the village of Florida school district, which is in the town of Warwick. Those incidents are in addition to increasingly contentious local elections and discussions in local Facebook groups.
“It’s just been really bad,” Stage said, adding: “We have feelings about who they might be but we can’t prove it.”
“Some of the same tone we hear in the national dialogue is essentially what has been repeated here,” said Cassidy, who condemned the fake website and signs in a Facebook video. “But this went a step further because it was somebody pretending to be somebody else and putting out a fake narrative.”
Zak Constantine, chairman of the Orange County Democratic Committee, joined Cassidy in her condemnation.
“In an era where the truth is increasingly under assault, it is chilling to see this vile attack on our LGBTQ+ community,” Constantine said in a statement. “These actions are not random instances of hate, but rather, they are symptomatic of a wider, more dangerous extremist narrative. A narrative that seeks to terrorize and marginalize those who simply wish to live their lives authentically.”
Despite the disinformation effort, Sunday’s Pride celebration went off without a hitch, according to Cassidy and Chief Rader.
“There was a huge show of support,” Cassidy said. “It showed that whoever is doing this is a very vocal minority.”