Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis filed a state complaint on Tuesday against a Miami restaurant for hosting drag queens where children were present.
“The nature of the performances described above, particularly when conducted in the presence of young children, corrupts the public morals and outrages the sense of public decency,” the complaint read.
The venue in question is R House, a Latin-American restaurant which regularly hosts drag show brunches. If R House fails to make amends, it could lose its liquor license for violating the state’s laws and policies.
DeSantis said this would effectively put the establishment out of business, the Miami Herald reported.
The Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco filed the complaint to the state’s Department of Business and Professional Regulation, under which the division falls.
According to the official document, “performances and simulated sexual activity — particularly when conducted in the presence of young children — constituted lewd activity and warrants revocation of respondent’s license.”
The restaurant’s owner released a statement in response to the DeSantis administration’s complaint filing.
“We are aware of the complaint and are currently working with the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, through our attorney, to rectify the situation,” it read. “We are hopeful that Gov. DeSantis, a vociferous supporter and champion of Florida’s hospitality industry and small businesses, will see this as what it is, a misunderstanding, and that the matter will be resolved positively and promptly.”
Under the complaint, the restaurant should be considered a “public nuisance” for hosting such inappropriate performances.
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The document disclosed that the division’s investigators came to this conclusion after visiting R House three separate times.
DeSantis talked about the complaint and its importance at a news conference in Tampa.
“Having kids involved in this is wrong and it is not consistent with our law and policy in the state of Florida, and it is a disturbing trend in our society to try to sexualize these young people,” the governor said.
“That is not the way you look out for our children. You protect children. You do not expose them.”
R House’s website does not explicitly advertise its brunches as kid-friendly events, but its drag brunch menu includes food options for kids under 12.
“We want to make sure that we have a state and we have communities where kids can be kids,” DeSantis said.
