'Hateful vandals' allegedly destroy American Revolution symbols, shatter windows after museum refuses to cancel Moms for Liberty event

A museum in Philadelphia was allegedly vandalized this week after it refused to cancel a Moms for Liberty event in the wake of significant widespread backlash from the community.

What are the details?

Moms for Liberty, a grassroots organization fighting for parental rights, hosted part of its annual Joyful Warriors National Summit at the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, this week, starting on Thursday.

A few of the event's speakers included former President Donald Trump, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley.

As soon as the event's location was announced, the museum started receiving pushback from members of the community who demanded its cancellation.

Community members try to cancel event

A couple of weeks ago, the Committee on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender History published a statement regarding the upcoming event.

"The Committee on LGBT History condemns the decision made by the Museum of the American Revolution to rent event space to Moms for Liberty, designated an extremist group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. This organization consistently spreads harmful, hateful rhetoric about the LGBTQIA+ community, including popularizing the use of the term 'groomer' to refer to queer people and attacking the mere existence of trans youth," it stated.

The group urged the museum to "cancel their contract and to take action to regain the trust of their LGBTQIA+ employees and the queer community of Philadelphia."

Similarly, James Grossman, the executive director of the American Historical Association, also called on the museum to "reconsider its decision" to host Moms for Liberty's event.

The Organization of American Historians, the "largest professional organization of US historians," released a scathing statement on Monday, accusing Moms for Liberty of being a "dangerous racist, homophobic, and transphobic" group.

"It is an organization that is actively engaged in efforts to ban books by and about LGBTQ+ individuals as well as individuals of color, and that rejects the importance of inclusive history and historical scholarship in teaching and understanding American life," the OAH stated.

Fox News Digital reported that six members of the Philadelphia Senate also spoke out in opposition to the event and encouraged its cancellation.

"The Museum's leadership has demonstrated a lack of judgment in agreeing to host a hate group. Fortunately, the mistake can be fixed with a simple and elegant solution: cancel the Moms for Liberty event for June 29. We look forward to your prompt actions," the members wrote in a letter.

Approximately 39 of the museum's employees filed a formal complaint with the museum's president and CEO, Scott Stephenson, to stop the event, according to the Philly Voice.

"Moms for Liberty kind of goes against everything that we do at the museum, especially when it comes to telling a more diverse and, therefore, accurate telling of history," said Trish Norman, the museum's assistant curator. "All of the work that we've done thus far as a museum, all of the relationship and community building that has been done in order to get to the place that we are today is going to be erased and is being tarnished and overshadowed by holding this one event."

American Revolution museum stands its ground

Despite the community's relentless opposition, the museum's leadership stood firm in its decision to host the Moms for Liberty event.

In a statement to WCAU-TV, the museum leadership said, "Because fostering understanding within a democratic society is so central to our mission, rejecting visitors on the basis of ideology would be antithetical to our purpose."

The outlet reported that protesters began gathering outside the museum to picket the event earlier this month.

On Thursday, Moms for Liberty shared on social media that vandals had shattered the windows and destroyed American Revolution symbols at the museum, along with a few photographs allegedly showing the aftermath of the attack.

"We are devastated to see @AmRevMuseum targeted last night by hateful vandals who broke windows and destroyed historical symbols of our country's freedom. The core of a free republic is to allow for the peaceful discussion of different ideas. We pray for peace in the days ahead," Moms for Liberty wrote on Twitter.

The museum told Fox News Digital, "Any instances of vandalism to our building are police matters and it wouldn't be appropriate for us to comment on them."

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