Despite protests and threats, this rural community hosted its first Pride festival

A thousand people crowded Decatur’s Madison Street Plaza in late June for the town’s first Pride festival, defying weeks of opposition, online threats, and efforts to cancel the event. For organizers, it was a powerful show of support in a place where some feared they were alone.

But the success of the event was far from guaranteed.

A month earlier, Nikki Ausland and the board of the newly formed Decatur Pride nonprofit walked into a city council meeting. The room was packed — not just with neighbors, but with people from outside the northeast Indiana town of 10,000, many eager to speak out against the festival.

“I felt every emotion. I felt like, ‘Oh my God, what are we doing? Did we make the right choice?’” Ausland said about the meeting. “‘This is exactly why we had to do this.’ My heart was racing. I was hot … It was a physical experience seeing all of these people.”

The council had approved the group’s permit to use the downtown plaza without opposition. But once news of the decision spread, so did the backlash — online and in person. Opponents of the event packed the meeting, many citing religious objections and calling the festival immoral or unsafe for children. 

Ausland, who grew up in Decatur and now serves as Decatur Pride’s first president, watched people she knew from church, work, and daily life stand to speak — some in support, others demanding the event be canceled.

“I never, ever dreamed that Decatur would allow something like this — so evil and so immoral,” said Deana Blakey, a local resident. She didn’t want drag queens or transgender people downtown.

A drag show planned for the event was particularly controversial. Residents and out-of-town pastors said they believed drag performances expose children to sex.

Ausland said it was painful to witness.

“It was hard to sit there and listen to what people had to say,” she said. “That we’re evil, that we’re pedophiles, that we’re groomers, that we’re abominations, that we’re un-Christian, we’re unholy — all of those things… That’s hard to hear. On a human level, it’s just hard to hear.”

At the meeting, the city attorney said that state law prevented officials from revoking the permit.

To the organizers’ surprise, many of the nearly 30 speakers in the room supported the event. Chris Vergara, a resident, said that homophobia in the town harms young LGBTQ people in Decatur.

“Just the amount of bigotry … is completely and utterly disgusting,” he said. “Shame on all of you for allowing bigotry to be in the town.” 

Decatur Pride organizers announced after the council meeting that the event would continue as planned, but not without wide-ranging pressure.

The landscape of small-town pride today

In many ways, Decatur Pride’s challenges mirror what LGBTQ people across Indiana face.

Since January, the Trump administration has turned federal policy sharply against LGBTQ people — especially transgender people — by shuttering civil rights offices, slashing funds, and ending HIV support and the LGBTQ youth suicide hotline. 

Indiana, unlike some states, offers no broad protections for LGBTQ rights. The state has recently enacted policies that target the community, including an “obscene performances” law in the 2025 legislative session. Advocates have warned it could be used to target drag performances.

But grassroots pride is growing across rural and small-town America. Decatur is one of four Indiana communities holding their first events this year, joining at least 38 this year, according to the Indiana Pride Network. 

Nearly 20 organizers of other pride events across Indiana told WFYI that support is mixed this year. Some said opposition and harassment, especially online, and local political and religious pressure has become common. Sponsors have pulled out and local allies have been quieter in some places. 

This climate spurred action in Decatur. 

After the November 2024 presidential election, members of the local Adams County Democratic party talked informally outside of meetings and decided to create a new organization. 

“Ultimately, we decided that not only should we do it, it has to be done this year, because we need to make the statement that there are safe people here,” said Kristine Brite, one of the Pride organizers. 

They turned to longtime county resident Ausland, a 9-1-1 dispatcher and a lesbian, to lead Decatur Pride.

‘A great victory in Decatur’

As the Pride festival drew criticism, some local church leaders from Decatur and beyond debated how to respond.

The Decatur Ministerial Association met before the city council’s public hearing, according to city council member Matthew Dyer, a Republican. He said that he and council member Abby Wilder attended the meeting where church leaders considered different approaches.

Some encouraged protests or asked the city to revoke the permit, while others organized prayer events or chose to stay quiet. 

Indiana Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith, a pastor himself, caught wind of the event and wrote about it on social media. He thanked the Adams County Republican party for pushing back “against the destructive lies that are hurting our communities and our children.”

The Decatur Church of Christ took out a newspaper ad announcing a prayer vigil during the festival. It referenced “abomination” and “perversion

“Pray daily that God will win a great victory in Decatur on June 28!” the ad read.

Minister Tom Haynie of the church heard concerns from his small congregation about the planned drag show. Haynie said he heard that people who opposed the Pride festival felt like they needed to do something, but didn’t know what to do.

Haynie has never been to a drag show, but he’s seen commercials on TV and thinks it’s “grotesque.” He said that God calls it ‘unnatural’ and ‘shameful,’ while ‘pride’ is a sin.

“Those were the things that were bothering people. They bothered me. They bothered a lot of our people in Decatur who didn’t want to see that come to their town … And I said, ‘Let’s just leave it to God in prayer and do that.’ And that’s what we chose to do, rather than to go down and protest it,” he said.

Haynie said the purpose of the event was to give people some direction. The church passed out packets to attendees with scriptures and prayer suggestions.

“You warn people because you love them,” he added.

Law enforcement got involved

Meanwhile, law enforcement began to monitor possible violence and prepare for the festival.

The Decatur Police Department investigated at least three violent threats, according to police records obtained by WFYI. One person suggested driving a car through the festival.

James Hamm, a detective, advised the Pride organizers to take the vehicle threat seriously, as someone had recently driven into the plaza where the event would be held despite cement barriers. 

Hamm identified the people behind the social media posts and spoke with each of them. The department sent his reports to Adams County Prosecutor Jeremy Brown, who reviewed them and didn’t pursue charges.

Police Chief Kevin Gerber wrote in a letter to Decatur Pride obtained by WFYI that the public had several concerns about the event. He said that police intended to be neutral, but he wanted to direct organizers’ attention to several laws about laws prohibiting criminal indecency, nudity, or obscene performances that were “harmful to minors.”

Gerber said the department also shared this information with the public and promoted it on social media.

The police established official safety plans and designated a space near the event location for protesters.

'We're not going to hide'

By late afternoon on festival day, the Madison Street Plaza was buzzing. Tents lined the brick walkway. Music spilled from the speakers. Drag performers touched up makeup behind the stage.But near the entrance, Nikki Ausland was tense. A protester was trying to enter the festival with a large sign reading, “Pride Kills. Only Christ Gives Life.” Ausland flagged police, reminding them the festival had a no-signs rule. Officers stepped in and directed the man to the designated protest zone across the street.

That moment captured the balance organizers tried to hold that day: creating a joyful, family-friendly celebration while staying alert to the threats that had swirled for weeks. Ausland kept an eye on the crowd and counted only a handful of protesters — some outside, some quietly handing out religious pamphlets inside the plaza.

Meanwhile, Decatur Pride shattered expectations. When organizers requested the permit, they had told the city council that they only expected a couple hundred attendees, but by the end of the day, they said they had passed out about a thousand wristbands.

Over 25 vendors set up tents, including a gaming store and local artists. One Decatur vendor, Kessi Wolf, said she nearly cried when she looked around the crowded plaza. 

“The talk online has been very disheartening and scary, and I was worried people were going to be scared to show up,” she said.

Gavin Bullock, a man from Berne who worked in Decatur, said he was relieved. 

“I was excited but nervous. But as the day goes on, I’m more settled for sure. I’m really, really happy,” he said. “Glad to be here.”

The drag show was a hit. Attendees crowded around the stage, cheering and passing out tips as the drag artists lip-synced to songs and danced in a kaleidoscope of outfits — all chosen to fit the family-friendly plans for the event.

Lucas King grew up near Decatur and performs under the drag name Maya Pinion. He wondered if critics of the drag show had ever been to one before they made accusations.

“We are having a good time supporting each other as a community,” he said. “It’s not any different than your football game.”

It was volunteer Sabastian Hathaway’s first pride, and he was pleased with how the day went.

“It makes my heart happy that people feel safe to come out, that they don’t feel scared,” he said. “We’re not going to hide, because pride is about showing people who we are, and that we’re alive and we matter.”

Attendee Audra Brieve said she had lived in Decatur for nearly 39 years.

“If you knew how things are… This is a big step. It really is,” she said.

A mile away, at the Church of Christ, minister Haynie said fewer people showed up to the prayer vigil than expected, but he thought it was a success for those that attended.

Organizers claimed Decatur’s first Pride festival as a success. But it ended with a reminder of how things had played out — a lingering incident of hostility.

After the event was over, law enforcement left and a handful of organizers and volunteers were cleaning up, said Kristine Brite. She said that someone drove by the plaza, shouted “f--- gay pride,” and hurled a brick. They reported the incident and left because they didn’t feel safe.

“It’s a good reminder for queer people in general,” reflected Ausland several days later, who wasn’t there for the incident. “Just to remember that we have to be vigilant. We always have to be aware of our surroundings, because there are people out there who want to do us harm.”

Law enforcement is investigating the incident.

Organizers say Decatur Pride will return next year.

Contact WFYI reporter Zak Cassel at zcassel@wfyi.org.