Fox News fury over ‘gay bar’ field trip sees elementary school teacher targeted with abuse

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A Fox News article that claimed an elementary school teacher had taken children to a “gay bar” for a field trip has seen her and her family threatened and abused online.

The right-wing outlet focused a story on a school board member who accompanied the children on an annual trip to LGBT+-friendly restaurant Rosie’s Bar and Grill in Florida, appearing to try to manufacture outrage about the trip.

Sarah Leonard posted on Facebook on Thursday how she was “honoured” to chaperone students from Wilton Manors Elementary in Broward County to Rosie’s Bar and Grill.

“The students and I had a fun walk over and learned a lot about our community! A huge thank you to Rosie's Bar and Grill for hosting this special field trip every year,” Ms Leonardi wrote.

The Facebook post has attracted comments from people questioning why young children were taken to venue where alcohol was served. Some of the homophobic criticism focused on the fact it was a popular venue among the LGBTQ community.

Fox News covered the story by depicting Ms Leonardi’s picture besides a rainbow flag.

In a statement, the Broward County School Board member told The Independent she was “proud to join classes for field trips and events, especially when our schools are connecting with the vibrant small businesses in my district”.

Ms Leonardi, who describes herself as “non-partisan”, said since sharing the post, she had been inundated with abusive messages.

“My friends and family have also been targeted. These attacks have no place in our society. The threats have been referred to the appropriate authorities, and I will continue to work hard to engage with my community, spread positivity, and represent my district on the school board.”

The knee-jerk reaction to the article saw numerous commenters pointing out the visit was an annual event and a normal part of community outreach.

“Rosie’s Bar and Grill is a local restaurant that is gay friendly and is just part of the community,” one person wrote on Twitter.

“They literally chaperoned kids to a restaurant to eat and meet people. But Fox News phrasing it as “gay bar” is a purposely misleading headline.”

Another wrote: “Rosie’s Bar and Grill is an all ages spot that is near the school, gay owned, and supports inclusion and community activism. Of course Fox would hate that.”

The restaurant sells cocktails with suggestive names such as Ivana Hooker, but there is no suggestion the children were shown drinks menus or offered alcohol.

The story has also been seized on by Republicans such as Congresswoman Lauren Boebert, who owns a restaurant in Colorado that allows children to enter and encourages people to carry guns.

“Leave out everything else - why in God’s name are they bringing elementary school kids to establishments that aren’t supposed to admit anyone under 21?” wrote Ms Boebert on Twitter.

“Also, homeschool your kids!”

Broward County School District did not immediately respond to a request for comment.