Ohio councillor calls on locals to monitor Pride celebration for ‘indecency’
Councillor Mike Cope (Mike Cope for Lebanon City Council)
A city council member in Lebanon, Ohio, is calling on residents to monitor the city’s Pride celebration next year for alleged incidents of “indecency”, a move organisers say could affect whether LGBTQ+ people feel safe and welcome at the event.
Council Member Mike Cope made the comments in a Facebook post following Lebanon Pride’s 2026 festival. The organisation had shared a screenshot of a video on 25 July showing Cope standing at the edge of the festival grounds and recording a drag performance, thanking him for attending and encouraging other council members to experience Pride firsthand.
Cope responded that the post was “laughable” and criticised the event as celebrating a “lifestyle that does not represent the majority of Lebanon”.
He then suggested that if “one action” at the festival violated existing indecency laws, Lebanon Pride might no longer consider him a welcome guest.
“The problem is that one or two people cannot monitor an entire day, so let this be a call for help in the future,” Cope wrote in his Facebook post.
Cope also called on Ohio lawmakers and Gov. Mike DeWine to pass HB 249, legislation that would restrict drag performances to venues classified as adult cabarets. He described drag performances at Pride as potentially “lewd” and argued they should be kept away from minors and public family settings.
However, Ohio’s existing indecency laws already address lewd performances, and Cope did not provide evidence of a specific performance at Lebanon Pride that violated those laws.
In a response to questions from The Buckeye Flame, Cope said he “love[s] and respect[s] everyone”, while adding that he does not have to agree with everyone about everything. Cope also did not answer any of The Buckeye Flame’s questions regarding why he was at Lebanon Pride in the first place.
Lebanon Pride organisers, meanwhile, say the councilman’s comments could have consequences beyond political disagreement.
Organiser James Reynolds told the Buckeye Flame that the festival has deliberately worked with the city to create an event that is appropriate for the local community, including making changes around tipping drag performers. Organisers say the city has generally been supportive of the festival.
Leslie Nahigyan, who oversees the event’s safety plan, also said Cope’s post could make attendees feel less secure and potentially embolden people looking to disrupt or harm the LGBTQ+ community.
The organisers say they welcome people who disagree with Pride and provide a designated space for protesters, but argue that encouraging residents to actively monitor the festival is different from simply exercising the right to protest.
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