He wanted to throw an Idaho town's first Pride. Angry residents had other ideas. [View all]

In the beginning, Tom Wheeler didn’t expect he would need a fence. He wanted to give Canyon County, Idaho, its first Pride celebration, and when he imagined that day, he pictured a park without barriers, an open space where everyone was welcome.

But then the mayor said the event conflicted with her beliefs, and angry residents called for a protest. Wheeler was a real estate agent from Boise, an out-of-towner, and worse, gay.

Far-right extremists had already targeted another small-town Idaho Pride, and now, Wheeler’s event seemed to be at risk, too. His mother begged him to stay home. An uncle urged him to wear a bulletproof vest. At the very least, local officers said, he might want a barricade.

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At best, they hoped, they might raise $1,000 — enough for T-shirts and rainbow-colored streamers. In their planning documents, they estimated 50 people would attend.


Drag queen Cookie Pusss performs for the crowd at the festival. (Kyle Green for The Washington Post)

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