Tulsa Donut Hole Firebombed After Hosting Drag Event

On November 3 2022, a viral tweet with video indicated that Tulsa, Oklahoma’s Donut Hole was firebombed “after hosting a drag show”:

In the text portion of the tweet, civil rights attorney Alejandra Caraballo said that the clip was the “inevitable outcome of the stochastic terror incited by Tucker Carlson, Libs of Tiktok, Christopher Rufo, and Matt Walsh.” A 30-second long video was attached to the tweet, published the morning after United States President Joe Biden spoke at length about the chilling effect of politically motivated violence.

Fact Check

Claim: Tulsa, Oklahoma’s Donut Hole was firebombed after hosting a drag show.

Description: Tulsa, Oklahoma’s Donut Hole was allegedly firebombed after hosting a drag show. This claim started going viral after a tweet posted on November 3, 2022. The establishment was reported being vandalized twice, with the second instance including a Molotov cocktail being thrown into the business.

Rating:

Rating Explanation: The claim is based on a viral tweet, surrounding events and news reports that indicated the establishment, Donut Hole, was indeed vandalized and firebombed after hosting a drag event. Thus, the claim is rated as True

In the video, a man in a red baseball cap with white writing is seen approaching a storefront before breaking its windows with a baseball bat. That individual then ignites a Molotov cocktail, throwing it through the broken windows before running away from the scene.

Caraballo described four individuals or social media accounts she indicated had intentionallyincited” public anger about “drag shows” — Tucker Carlson, @libsoftiktok, Chris Rufo, and Matt Walsh:

On October 16 2022, KTUL reported that the business was vandalized after an event “where drag queens served donuts to customers” on October 15 2022.

On October 31 2022, KTUL reported that the Donut Hole had been “vandalized” a second time. KTUL did not explain how the establishment was vandalized, but reported that the incident occurred right before the Donut Hole planned to host an event:

After community members helped to fix up the shop and donate money to a GoFundMe, the business was planning another event on Nov. 3 [2022] to say thank you for the community.

After the vandalism, The Queens Dirty Dozen said on Facebook that the event is now canceled.

KTUL embedded a post published to Facebook on October 31 2022. Video appended to the post included date and timestamps, showing the same firebombing just after 2:30 am on October 31 2022.

In a status update attached to the minute-long video, the business apologized and disclosed that the two attacks in a two-week span sufficiently terrified its owners enough to cancel the second event:

Love will always win but enough is enough. Due to the windows being smashed out again and a fire, we are forced to cancel our event. We tried. And we’re sorry.

A viral November 3 2022 tweet claimed that Tulsa, Oklahoma’s Donut Hole was “firebombed” after hosting a drag show; the tweet pointed to violent rhetoric and commentary from right-wing pundits such as Tucker Carlson, @libsoftiktok, Chris Rufo, and Matt Walsh, all of whom regularly sought to whip up anger about “drag shows.” On October 15 2022, the Donut Hole had drag queens serve donuts at night; the establishment was vandalized the same day. On October 31 2022 (with another event planned for November 3 2022), an individual in a red baseball hat bashed the shop’s window in with a baseball bat and threw a Molotov cocktail through the broken glass. In response, the business stated that due to “the windows being smashed out again and a fire, we are forced to cancel our event.”