You Went to a Drag Show—Now the State of Florida Wants Your Name

That’s what’s happening in Vero Beach, FL, where the Florida Attorney General’s office has subpoenaed a local restaurant, The Kilted Mermaid, demanding surveillance video, guest lists, reservation logs, and contracts of performers and other staff—all because the venue hosted an LGBTQ+ Pride event.

To be clear: no one has been charged with a crime, and the law Florida is likely leaning on here—the so-called “Protection of Children Act” (which was designed to be a drag show ban)—has already been blocked by federal courts as likely unconstitutional. But that didn’t stop Attorney General James Uthmeier from pushing forward anyway. Without naming a specific law that was violated, the AG’s press release used pointed and accusatory language, stating that "In Florida, we don't sacrifice the innocence of children for the perversions of some demented adults.” His office is now fishing for personal data about everyone who attended or performed at the event. This should set off every civil liberties alarm bell we have.

Even if the courts strike down this subpoena—and they should—the damage will already be done. A restaurant owner (who also happens to be the town’s vice mayor) is being dragged into a state investigation. Performers’ identities are potentially being exposed—whether to state surveillance, inclusion in law enforcement databases, or future targeting by anti-LGBTQ+ groups. Guests who thought they were attending a fun community event are now caught up in a legal probe. These are the kinds of chilling, damaging consequences that will discourage Floridians from hosting or attending drag shows, and could stamp out the art form entirely.

EFF has long warned about this kind of mission creep: where a law or policy supposedly aimed at public safety is turned into a tool for political retaliation or mass surveillance. Going to a drag show should not mean you forfeit your anonymity. It should not open you up to surveillance. And it absolutely should not land your name in a government database.

Venues that violated the law faced fines and the possibility that their liquor licenses could be suspended or revoked. Individuals could be charged with a misdemeanor crime.

The law was challenged in 2023 by the Hamburger Mary’s restaurant in Orlando which regularly hosted drag shows, including family-friendly performances. The restaurant claimed the Florida law violated First Amendment rights by chilling speech.

In May, a three-judge panel for the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals voted 2-1 to back a lower court’s preliminary injunction that described Florida’s law as overly broad and vaguely written. The case now returns to the Middle District of Florida for trial.

Attorney Melissa Stewart, who is representing Hamburger Mary’s, a drag-themed casual-dining restaurant, said they’re thrilled the First Amendment rights of Floridians will remain protected as the case continues.

“The Court’s opinion recognizes this law for what it is -– an egregiously unconstitutional attempt to censor the speech and expression of citizens,” Stewart said.

Brian Wright, a spokesman for the Florida governor’s office, called the ruling an overreach by a federal court.

“No one has a constitutional right to perform sexual routines in front of little kids,” Wright said. “We will do everything possible to have this lawless decision overturned.”

Linda Moore, the vice mayor of Vero Beach, owns the Kilted Mermaid with her husband. She said the subpoena did not specify which law may have been violated during the Pride event that featured drag performers, as it has for more than a decade.

“It’s unreal,” Ms. Moore said in an interview last week. “I’m just a small-business person with a little restaurant that’s been open for 14 years. We serve fondue!”

In May, Mr. Uthmeier threatened “swift legal action” against a gym in Palm Beach Gardens for allowing transgender people to use bathrooms that align with their gender identity. The gym, owned by the national chain Life Time, reversed its policy.

“He has always been comfortable using the weight of his office in a way that other people would balk at,” said State Representative Alex Andrade, a Pensacola Republican who led the State House investigation into the Hope Florida Foundation and is one of Mr. Uthmeier’s fiercest critics.

The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) is back in the Senate. Sponsors are claiming—again—that the latest version won’t censor online content. It isn’t true. This bill still sets up a censorship regime disguised as a “duty of care,” and it will do what previous versions threatened: suppress lawful, important speech online, especially for young people.

The bill says it can’t be enforced based on a user’s “viewpoint.” But the text of the bill itself preferences certain viewpoints over others. Plus, liability in KOSA attaches to the platform, not the user. The only way for platforms to reduce risk in the world of KOSA is to monitor, filter, and restrict what users say.

If the FTC can sue a platform because minors saw a medical forum discussing anorexia, or posts about LGBTQ identity, or posts discussing how to help a friend who’s depressed, then that’s censorship. The bill’s stock language that “viewpoints are protected” won’t matter. The legal incentives guarantee that platforms will silence even remotely controversial speech to stay safe.

Once again, the GOP is evil.

Sources:

You Went to a Drag Show—Now the State of Florida Wants Your Name
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/07/you-went-drag-show-now-state-florida-wants-your-name

Florida’s attorney general targets a restaurant over an LGBTQ Pride event
https://apnews.com/article/florida-drag-show-law-vero-beach-uthmeier-7793dbe3ffd356dda4e678940463922c

Federal appeals court continues to block Florida’s drag-show ban as likely unconstitutional
https://apnews.com/article/drag-shows-florida-df85bbe2b50917831b8cdc51c8a9dcd5

The Kids Online Safety Act Will Make the Internet Worse for Everyone
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/05/kids-online-safety-act-will-make-internet-worse-everyone

Florida’s New Cultural Warrior Is the Man Behind ‘Alligator Alcatraz’
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/28/us/james-uthmeier-florida-attorney-general-desantis.html

Subpoena PDF Link:
https://www.myfloridalegal.com/sites/default/files/2025-05/subpoena-25-0602-kilted-mermaid-signed_.pdf

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