"I thought it would hurt if they got in"

Inside the Te Atatū hate crime.

Feb 16, 2025

On Saturday, members of Destiny Church stormed an event for children in Tāmaki Makaurau. Brian Tamaki had threatened trans performers, children and their families ahead of the event. He directed his followers to commit the hate crime by saying: “I want you to storm the library they’re in and shut it down.”

He added: “There might have been some pushing and shoving, but I would smack someone who was trying to pervert my child in a room.”

Police decided not to arrest any of the adults who participated in the attack.

I talked to a family who were at the event - this is their story.

It was when there was a knock at the door and their child jumped in fright that Kate and James knew that their eleven-year-old had been traumatised.

That morning, they had attended a show in Te Atatū about ‘the science of the skies’ created and performed by drag king Hugo Grrrl. Their day had ended trying to keep their children calm as they were barricaded in a room at a community centre, dozens of angry men and women from Destiny Church banging on the door trying to get to them.

Sammy, 11, was nervous when they saw the gang of furious adults outside the Te Atatū Peninsula Community Hub. “It was really scary…but I thought they were just protesting and I thought that’s all they would be doing”.

Along with their dad and younger sibling, Sammy had been excited to go to the show. Despite the angry screaming from the gang outside, they weren’t too worried. But around 20 minutes into the performance their joy turned to terror.

“I started to get really scared when the chanting got louder and we heard it inside and especially when they were banging on the door. I was scared they were going to get in,” Sammy says. “I thought they’d come in and hurt people.”

As a woman was pulled inside the room sobbing, and was checked for injuries, Sammy’s dad and the other parents in the room followed Hugo’s lead to just keep the energy up. It was unspoken but everyone in the room knew their role.

The show would go on. They would do their best to distract the children so they would not see or feel the fear rising in the room. They would stay calm, support each other, and put on a brave face until help arrived.

Drag hysteria isn't about kids

“The show itself,” James says, “is literally about meteorology. Like, the rainbow is not a euphemism. It’s literally about how rainbows are made,” James says.

“It’s fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. He [Hugo] came out and he sang songs about different types of weather, and he came out dressed as the sun. It was just brilliant, heaps of outfit changes. It’s literally a show about weather. There’s no gender politics or anything like that. It’s designed for six-year-olds.”

In fact the show’s audience was mostly under the age of six, there were babies as well as toddlers curled up on the laps of their parents - or jumping around the room.

After singing a welcome song and a song about the sun, the mood was joyous. Then it changed.

James says the adults could hear furious rage-filled chanting building over Hugo’s songs about rain and clouds. And then came the banging. The black-shirted gang had stormed the community centre, run up the stairs, and were trying to get into the room where the show was held.

“I just thought this is really going bad,” James says.

“Hugo just basically tried to go into the next song. There was shouting outside the door and all of this banging. We knew event staff were on the other side of the door being pushed into the door.”

Sammy cried hysterically as they thought about what the angry horde would do if they got in.

“It was just really scary, really really scary, and I thought it would hurt if they got in, it was really scary for the little kids because it was loud. But Hugo gave me a hug. And it helped me,” Sammy says.

“It was very obvious to anyone above the age of about nine in that room that we couldn’t leave,” James says.

“There was definite fear and there were kids crying - they were being comforted by parents.”

“We couldn’t go anywhere. So we thought we may as well keep the show going. At the end, there was photos with Hugo and obviously Sammy was very upset but one of the ladies there with their kids came up and she said “We’ve all been through this, it’s okay,” and gave Sammy comfort.”

“There was some real moments of beauty in that room,” James says.

The parents and organisers had decided to respond to the hatred by coming together, by staying upbeat, by hiding their fear.

“The kids there were younger than my kids, so we all just really wanted to not have them experience any of that hate by keeping them focused on a show as much as possible,” James says.

“Especially as we couldn’t go anywhere”.

Police were called and eventually arrived to assist in the evacuation of the parents and children attending the show.

Credit: Maggie Lancioni

At home, Sammy is still jumpy. Kate and James are trying to help their children process the events of the day. They’re trying to process it themselves.

“How do you even discuss what happened?” James says. His wife agrees, “I just don’t understand how anyone can claim that they’re trying to protect families when they are literally traumatising children by their actions,” she says. “It just floors me. I’m not anti-religion at all but any religion that thinks that this is good for families is messed up.”

“It just feels like they are actively discouraging the community from getting engaged at all with our queer community and isolating the queer community even further,” Kate says.

James and Kate are unsure if they will attend another event. “It’s scary to think about going to another one,” James says. “This is supposed to be a celebration. We cannot celebrate.”

“But I think it’s even more important now than ever that we do go to these events,” James says.

But it will be up to their children he says. And their child Lily, 9, has said that she doesn’t want to go to another one “because she knows what could happen.”

“What does that say to our young trans and non-binary kids? It just breaks my heart,” Kate says.

Following their violent attack in Te Atatū, the group went to the Pride Parade where they broke through barriers on Ponsonby Road intimidating families watching performers and the performers themselves.

No arrests were made. A police spokesperson said: “Police responded and moved the individuals off the road.”

Auckland Pride continues until 1 March. The Wellington Pride Festival begins 7 March.

On 15 March, Wairarapa’s first ever Pride festival will be held. Despite threats made to organisers, the Featherston Pae Tū Mōkai Pride Festival has been embraced by the Wairarapa with residents offering to volunteer, host, and even drive folks to the event.

Paekākāriki Pride organisers shared their support for attendees of Hugo’s show and the parade:

“We resolve to stand strong against the rising tide of anti-queer movements and to keep being a beacon of love, strength, and joy to our queer whānau and allies.”

Revoke Destiny's Charitable Status

Emily Writes Weekly

Discussion about this post