White House bans LGBTQ activists for going topless at Pride event
5:31 pm Tuesday, June 13th, 2023
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Three guests at the White House’s Pride party on Saturday have been banned from future events after going topless on the South Lawn, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Tuesday.
“The behavior was simply unacceptable. We’ve been very clear about that. It was unfair to the hundreds of attendees who were there to celebrate their families,” Jean-Pierre said.
Rose Montoya, a transgender activist, posted video to her Instagram and TikTok accounts showing her with her dress pulled down, covering her naked breasts on the White House lawn during the party, standing next to trans men with their shirts off.
“Individuals in the video certainly will not be invited to future events,” Jean-Pierre said, adding that the event was intended to celebrate the LGBTQ community and families. Thousands of people were invited to the event.
“Going topless in Washington DC is legal,” Montoya said in a followup video on TikTok, addressive conservative critics.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal and Heather Timmons; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
