Police Raid Pittsburgh Gay Bar, Forcing Patrons Into Rain
Pennsylvania State Police conducted a Friday night raid of P*Town Bar to ensure that it was complying with state liquor laws.
P*Town Bar, a popular gay bar in Pittsburgh’s Bloomfield neighborhood, was hosting “Another Party Pittsburgh” last Friday, May 2. The regularly occurring event, hosted by local drag performer Indica, featured special guest Amanda Lepore, a legendary club performance artist.
At 11:30 p.m., approximately 20 Pennsylvania State Police officers and undercover agents raided the bar just as drag artist Blade Matthews had begun performing a theatrical rendition of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.”
When the performance ended, officers ordered patrons and performers to leave the club, forcing everyone outside into the rain.
“Dozens of state police, geared up with bulletproof vests, flooded the bar and told us to get out,” one patron told local news outlet QBurgh. “None of the officers would explain what was happening. We stood in the rain for maybe 30 minutes or so until most patrons were let back in. Fortunately, the situation was calm and orderly, but they really just overtook this queer space with an entire fleet of police to ‘count heads’ or whatever their excuse was.”
Officers refused to make eye contact with the drag queens inside, although most interactions between police and patrons were described as calm, according to Qburgh.
One witness, who asked to remain anonymous, said that the raid was a “jarring experience.”
The raid drew comparisons to similar actions taken by Russian authorities as part of an ongoing crackdown against gay-marketed establishments under the country’s anti-gay laws.
Attendees later told news outlets that police offered little explanation for the raid, calling it a “compliance check.” The officers appeared to be from the Pennsylvania State Police Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement.
“It was an LCB raid taken to the extreme,” Indica told QBurgh. “We waited 30 minutes outside for them to inspect every crevice.”
Indica said that some of the officers recognized Lepore — a fixture of the New York City nightclub scene in the 1980s and 1990s — and even asked for selfies while the crowd was forced to wait outside.
Despite the downpour, Indica performed an a cappella rendition of Chappell Roan’s “Pink Pony Club,” with the displaced patrons and onlookers joining in.
“Queer people banded together and showed we are so much stronger than an attempt to make us scared or comply with their rules,” Indica said.
After police finished their inspection, only 70 people were allowed back inside the venue.
According to QBurgh, State Police claim the bar was over capacity, with 130 patrons inside a space permitted for 70 people.
State Police say the action was led by the Allegheny County Nuisance Bar Task Force, which includes the Pittsburgh Police, the District Attorney’s office, and the State Police Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement.
The City of Pittsburgh is still trying to determine who made the initial complaint.
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