Police say man has been charged in hate-motivated crime after protest at library

Calgary police say a 36-year-old man is facing two charges in a hate-motivated crime.

Police say protesters disrupted a Reading with Royalty event early last month at the Seton Library in the city’s southeast.

The family-friendly storytimes at public libraries are led by local drag queens or kings, and children are invited to dress in their best outfit, cape or crown.

Officers were called around 11 a.m. on Feb. 25 for reports that several people had aggressively entered a library classroom, shouting homophobic and transphobic slurs at the children and parents in attendance.

Derek Scott Reimer has been arrested and charged with causing a disturbance and mischief.

Police say hate-motivated crimes are those where an offender was motivated by bias, prejudice or hate based on personal characteristics of the victim.