Hypocrisy, lies and censorship fuel drag protest in Sylva
Bode Catlin, of Macon County, protests against a private event at the Jackson County Library in Sylva.
Cory Vaillancourt photo
Outside agitators continued their assault on the First Amendment in Sylva Aug. 24, as a small group of right-wing activists demonstrated against a private event in the Jackson County Public Library — demanding the government enforce their morality in public spaces by infringing on the liberty of others.
The protest was organized by Jackson County resident Keith Blaine, who has made a name for himself by spreading lies about the Fontana Regional Library System both before and after commissioners voted to withdraw from the eight-decade regional library partnership with Swain and Jackson counties over LGBTQ content back in June.
“My wife and I are the ones that got Keith involved in fighting the library,” said Bodie Catlin, a Macon County Republican Party precinct chair. “He knew nothing about it when we got him involved.”
Catlin’s wife, Diann, is a member of the Macon County Public Library Board of Trustees.
Jackson County taxpayers are expected to be on the hook for the estimated $500,000 increase in library expenses that will result if the county follows through with the withdrawal. Catlin, who does not pay taxes in Jackson County, said he wasn’t aware of the additional expense and defended coming from Macon County to tell Jackson County taxpayers to eat the increase next year — after a substantial property tax increase was already passed in this year’s budget. Caitlin’s position appears at odds with traditional conservative ideology.
“That’s normally how we are,” he said, of the low-tax, low-regulation economic mindset usually espoused by the right.
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Standing among about 20 other demonstrators including Blain and Caitlin was Richard Simi, whose contradictions were even sharper than Catlin’s. Public records show only one “Richard Simi” registered to vote in North Carolina, out of Wake County.
Simi said he was against the library holding a public event during normal business hours that he said was not “appropriate for young children.” But Simi’s comments were indicative of the state of discourse around LGBTQ rights in Jackson County today — facts are few and far between, while falsehoods fly freely.
The 2025 Mx. Sylva Belle Pageant, which began in the Community Room shortly after Blaine’s protest started, was a private, ticketed event not open to the general public. Organizers reserved their right to refuse entry to anyone.
The pageant, which began at 6 p.m., was also not held during normal business hours, as the Jackson County Public Library is never open to the public on Sundays. The pageant was billed as family friendly.
“What I tell people that I organize with is that if you could see it happening in a ‘Shrek’ movie, then it’s probably fair game,” said Burgin Mackey, who helps coordinate the Sylva Belles drag cooperative and organized the pageant. Mackey added that she’d told her performers to cut down on the cussing and avoid racy outfits, and that she’d screened performers’ musical selections for suggestive lyrics.
Simi’s stance, however, was that the only problem he had with the event was its content.
“Yeah, local governments, we’ve always been about that, especially with like, sexual content exposed to young children,” he said. “Do we not want children not exposed to sexual content?”
When confronted with the fact that the Bible — of which multiple copies are housed at the same library — contains sexual content, Simi deflected.
“There’s references to things that have happened. It’s not [the same],” he argued. Asked whether he would also support banning Christian events from the same public space, he claimed those types of events didn’t harm children.
Any law that regulates speech because of what is being said — its topic, its idea or its message — is a content-based restriction. Content-based laws must pass strict scrutiny, meaning the government must prove the law serves a compelling governmental interest and is narrowly tailored to achieve that interest. In the 2015 Supreme Court ruling in Reed v. Gilbert, the court reaffirmed that even seemingly benign motives don’t excuse content-based regulation.
The court held that “a government, including a municipal government vested with state authority, has no power to restrict expression because of its message, its ideas, its subject matter or its content,” the opinion reads. That principle was quoted directly from earlier First Amendment precedent in Police Dept. of Chicago v. Mosley, that “content-based laws — those that target speech based on its communicative content — are presumptively unconstitutional and may be justified only if the government proves that they are narrowly tailored to serve compelling state interests.”
The exchange underscored a double standard — drag, according to Simi, is intolerable, but his preferred traditions are perfectly acceptable.
“If any other 501(c)3 can rent out this beautiful complex, then why is it such a question when it comes to us?” Mackey asked. “If somebody wants to host a fundamentalist Christian pro-family [event] in this space, as long as they go through the appropriate channels with the Jackson County Public Library, full sail ahead. I don’t want to legislate morality. I have no intention of legislating people’s private lives.”
Instead, the goal is to create space for people to be seen, validated and safe.
“This is a chance for us to represent for other folks that feel like they can’t be as honest about themselves,” said Mackey.
Blaine’s group down by the fountain never grew larger than about 25 people, but as showtime approached, more than 125 pro-library, pro-liberty counterdemonstrators slowly assembled on the library’s lawn. The numbers were similar to those demonstrated during weeks of public comment over the FRL withdrawal vote, with vocal library opponents consistently outnumbered by supporters.
By 6 p.m. on the night of the event, more than 120 people had gathered on the lawn of the Jackson County Public Library for a quiet, peaceful “read-in” to counter the protesters at the fountain far below. Cory Vaillancourt photo
The counterdemonstrators spread out blankets, unfolded portable chairs and silently read books in the shade of the historic courthouse, avoiding confrontation with demonstrators far below.
They were also there to serve as a buffer against any attempts by demonstrators to disrupt the event, as happened in 2023 after social media threats and a verbal altercation at the library’s entrance over organizers’ refusal to sell tickets to three people trying to get into the performance.
Fortunately, there were no such incidents this year. Sylva Police Chief Chris Hatton issued a statement later that night, commending both sides for the orderly expression of First Amendment rights.
“Through it all, Sylva Police Department was present, not to interfere, but to ensure safety,” Hatton wrote. “As Chief, I’m proud to say that SPD doesn’t take sides. My officers were met with kindness from both sides, including handshakes and well wishes. We were thanked for our participation throughout the evening. Our job is to protect the space where voices could be heard, safely and freely. And that’s exactly what happened.”
