This story by Patrick Adrian was first published by the Valley News on Jan. 9.
WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — A bomb threat that turned out to be a hoax disrupted an event at Northern Stage on Saturday, forcing families attending a drag story hour to evacuate the theater as a precautionary measure.
The Hartford Police Department, with assistance from the Vermont State Police, is investigating multiple emails that were sent to a handful of Upper Valley businesses and residents claiming that bombs were set to detonate within 30 minutes. The threats targeted Northern Stage, Planned Parenthood in White River Junction and the Target store in West Lebanon.
Four individuals, three of whom were Hartford residents, also received emails saying that explosives were placed in their homes, according to a Vermont State Police report. Members of the media, including a Valley News reporter, also received a copy of the email sent to Northern Stage, Planned Parenthood and Target.
Police responded to the locations and determined there were no explosive devices or other active threats, according to the state police report.
Northern Stage staff, who received the threat around 1:40 p.m., evacuated the Barrette Center for the Arts, which was hosting a drag story hour to raise money for the Upper Valley Circus Collective, a nonprofit organization based in Cornish.
“It was shocking,” said Nancy Nutile-McMenemy, a freelance photographer from Weathersfield who was taking pictures at the show. “To target an event intended for children is equatable to an act of terrorism.”
Between 60 to 70 people were in attendance, many of them adolescents or young children.
“Most of the children under the age of 10 didn’t have a clue what was happening — but the teenagers and parents were rattled,” Nutile-McMenemy said.
In addition to ending the stories 20 minutes early, Upper Valley Circus had to cancel arts and crafts activities that were planned after the show.
“This was not something that these kids should have had to experience,” said Meg Tenney, director of Upper Valley Circus Collective. “Speaking as a parent, to have to tell other parents that their children may be in a dangerous situation was tough.”
Drag Story Hour — which is hosted by Burlington-based performer Justin Marsh, whose stage name is Emoji Nightmare — is a family-friendly event where drag performers read children’s books with themes that include diversity, acceptance and inclusion, Tenney noted.
Issuing death threats in emails “is far more damaging to children than telling them stories,” she said.
Tenney, who was raising money to fund circus arts classes at Upper Valley schools, said she hopes to find a space to provide the remainder of the story hour, as well as the arts and crafts, for the ticket-buying families.
Northern Stage received another hoax email around 7:30 p.m., at the start of a sold-out drag and burlesque show — also a fundraiser for Upper Valley Circus. Approximately 240 people were in attendance.
However, Hartford Police told Northern Stage that it was safe to ignore the email and hold the show.
Tenney said that the theater had been thoroughly inspected in the afternoon and was kept locked until the evening show. As additional precautions, bags and backpacks were prohibited from the theater and only ticket holders were allowed into the building.
Marsh, along with drag performer Katniss Everqueer, released a statement on Instagram in which they thanked Northern Stage for their handling of the situation.
“We will continue to do this work and show up for communities, families, and children,” they said. “We will continue to share stories of identity, kindness, and belonging. We will not back down in the face of hatred and fear. Because we love this work, and because we know representation saves lives, builds empathy, and changes the world.”
Jason Smoller, managing director at Northern Stage, said the organization is “deeply shocked and saddened” by the threats to the fundraiser events.
“Northern Stage will continue to be a safe space for all,” Smoller said in an email on Monday. “In the face of events like this, Northern Stage remains deeply committed to the power of theater to bring our community closer together.”
Jessica Barquist, vice president of public affairs at Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, said in a phone interview that the White River Junction clinic is closed on Saturdays and was not impacted by the emails.
“Our security team worked closely with local law enforcement to ensure that our White River Junction health center was safe and secure,” Barquist said on Monday. “All of our health centers in Vermont are open and able to safely serve patients who need care.”
A Monday phone message to Target’s media department in Minneapolis seeking comment was not returned by deadline.
Ryan Miller, the State Police trooper who filed the report, was out of the office on Monday and unavailable for comment.
Hartford Police Chief Gregory Sheldon said he was aware of three residents who received the emails. While the residents notified the police department, they declined to have officers inspect their homes. The residents had vacated their homes until the time passed when the email claimed the bombs would detonate, according to the email.
Sheldon said the emails appear to be connected to a Russian server — which will make it difficult to identify the sender without the cooperation of Russian authorities.
“We encourage people to contact us immediately when they receive (threatening) emails,” Sheldon said.
In New Hampshire, hoax bomb threats were emailed last Wednesday to several government buildings, including the Secretary of State’s office
Anyone with information that could assist in the investigation should contact Hartford police at 802-295-9425, or the Vermont State Police barracks in Royalton at 802-234-9933. Anonymous tips also can be submitted online at the state police website at vsp.vermont.gov.