Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier – Photo: Official Portrait
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has subpoenaed records from the Kilted Mermaid, a popular Vero Beach restaurant, as part of an investigation into a June 29 “Pride Tea Dance” featuring music, dancing, and drag shows.
Uthmeier’s office claims the restaurant allowed “adult, sexualized performers in front of children,” allegedly violating Florida’s blocked law banning drag shows and other “adult live performances.”
Announcing the probe on X, Uthmeier wrote, “In Florida, we don’t sacrifice the innocence of children for the perversions of some demented adults.” He said his office had subpoenaed Kilted Mermaid owner and Vero Beach Vice Mayor Linda Moore to testify and provide documents related to the event.
The subpoena, to which Moore must respond by August 8, seeks security video from June 29, employee work schedules for June 28 to 30, reservation logs, guest lists, and documents identifying performers and security staff.
The subpoena does not specify which laws the Kilted Mermaid may have violated, and Uthmeier’s office has not responded to questions from NBC News, WPTV, or the Associated Press about the investigation’s legal basis.
NBC News reports the probe was prompted by a complaint from Jennifer Pippin, who leads a local chapter of Moms for Liberty, an anti-gay organization. The group is known for pushing book bans and opposing LGBTQ representation, with some members even filing police reports against those who fail to censor such material.
In social media posts, Pippin said she complained to the attorney general’s office, accusing the restaurant of violating Florida’s “Protection of Children Act,” which bars “adult live performances” in public or where minors might see them.
The law imposes fines and threatens venues that host adult-themed shows where minors could be present with the loss of their business and liquor licenses. It also allows first-degree misdemeanor charges against those who permit children at such shows, carrying penalties of up to a $1,000 fine and a year in jail. Critics have dubbed it a “drag ban,” pointing to statements from lawmakers who backed the bill expressing hostility toward drag and LGBTQ visibility.
The law has been blocked by federal judges, with even the conservative 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals finding it “overbroad,” “impermissibly vague,” and likely unconstitutional. It is being challenged in a lawsuit brought by Orlando’s Hamburger Mary’s, which hosts family-friendly drag brunches, and awaits trial in the Middle District of Florida.
Pippin, who has called for Moore to resign as vice mayor, told NBC News she was unaware the law had been blocked when she filed her complaint. She said the attorney general’s office told her other state laws restrict “adult live performances.” Although she did not attend the event, Pippin cited social media photos and videos she claimed showed children at the restaurant late into the night.
“We have to protect the innocence of children at all costs from live adult entertainment shows,” she said.
Moore maintains that neither she nor her restaurant did anything wrong.
“We have the event every year; it’s our gay pride event, and it is all ages,” Moore told NBC News. “It’s a family-friendly event, and then once the drag show actually starts, we tell the parents who have small children that they can’t stay for the show.”
Because some parents want to stay, Moore has kept a policy requiring drag acts to be “really tame,” with no profanity. Once all children leave, the performances can be a “little racy,” she said, but even then, there is no nudity.
Moore disputes Pippin’s claims, saying no children were present late at night. She noted that photos Pippin shared of children were taken while it was still light outside, during the family-friendly portion of the event. She also pointed out that a photo of a performer in lingerie, offered as “proof” of a sexualized show, shows no children in the audience and was taken later that evening during the adult-only portion.
Attorney Glen Torcivia told WPTV it may be difficult for prosecutors to bring charges against Moore, even if children were present. He added that such complaints are typically handled by local authorities, not the attorney general.
That may indicate that there is a larger motive or ideology fueling the investigation.
“From a legal standpoint, I do not think this goes very far at all, but it does generate a lot of publicity,” Torcivia said.
He warned that any action against Moore or the Kilted Mermaid could carry serious First Amendment implications, including free speech and freedom of association.
“People have a freedom to go and attend whatever event they want to attend and choosing to go with their children to a show — that’s their freedom, their choice,” he said.
Moore said the Kilted Mermaid, though not a gay bar, welcomes everyone and will continue hosting LGBTQ-inclusive events.
“We are committed to supporting everyone in the community like we always have, and gay pride will continue, and drag queen bingo will continue,” Moore told NBC News. “Nothing has changed for us.”
The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld a Tennessee law banning doctors from prescribing gender-affirming puberty blockers and hormones to transgender youth with gender dysphoria.
A group of families of transgender youth and a doctor who treats them sued to overturn the law, arguing it was unconstitutional, infringed on parental rights, and violated nondiscrimination protections in the Affordable Care Act. Lower courts ultimately dismissed the parental rights and ACA-based claims.
Two teenage girls were shot and another was stabbed during a chaotic brawl in Greenwich Village, a few blocks from the historic Stonewall Inn, after Sunday’s NYC Pride Parade ended.
According to police, a fight broke out between two groups of young people in Sheridan Square, near Christopher Park and the Stonewall National Monument, site of the 1969 uprising considered the seminal moment of the modern LGBTQ rights movement.
The altercation began around 10:15 p.m., when a 16-year-old girl from one group moved through the crowd in the square and pulled out a 9-millimeter gun, aiming it at a boy's head in the opposing group. She missed, firing two shots, one of which struck a 17-year-old girl visiting from Bayonne, N.J., in the thigh.
Today marks 10 years since the Supreme Court's landmark decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, which made same-sex marriage legal nationwide. Since then, the number of married same-sex couples in the U.S. has more than doubled -- even as fears grow that the ruling could be overturned.
The Williams Institute estimates there are now about 823,000 married same-sex couples in the U.S., including 591,000 who have wed since the Obergefell decision.
These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!
You must be logged in to post a comment.