The brand hit out at the neo-fascist group after they protested at a drag brunch event in North Carolina which was fundraising for a local LGBTQ+ centre, criticising them for “spreading hate” while wearing their sunglasses.
“Reminder: if you spread hate while wearing Pit Vipers, we will use your money to combat your efforts,” the sunglasses company wrote on Twitter.
The tweet was accompanied by a screenshot of a $200 donation to the Southern Poverty Law Center, a charity that aims to fight white supremacy.
According to LGBTQ Nation, 16 members of Proud Boys came to the event and reportedly shouted “groomers” at attendees.
The protest took place after the anti-LGBTQ+ Twitter account LibsofTikTok reportedly posted about the Halloween drag event and falsely claimed a satanist would be performing.
Reminder: if you spread hate while wearing Pit Vipers, we will use your money to combat your efforts. #pitvipergivesafuck pic.twitter.com/y4lRHhPoXa
— Pit Viper (@PitViperShades) October 31, 2022
Lindsey Knapp, the drag event’s organiser, told WRAL News that she had received a “significant amount of resistance for hosting this event”, including death threats.
“The most vocal groups claim that we are paedophiles and that they are going to show up… and shoot us,” she said.
Knapp added: “This is about showing the LGBTQ community that they are loved and supported and that their freedom of expression is supported.”
The Proud Boys’ protesting of drag events is nothing new, with the far-right group storming a Drag Queen Story Hour event at a library in California in June.
Five men reportedly hijacked the event, which was aimed at pre-school children, and were described as “incredibly aggressive” by police.