UPDATE (WKOW) — 27 News spoke with Jacquie Steele, the President of Queers and Allies, who said the group was able to secure private insurance. 

Steele explained that the original insurance company rescinded their event coverage in fear of the possibility of violent protests. The non-profit said much of this fear follows a recent Watertown Pride event that was interrupted by a Nazi group. 

Fear, Steele explained, is one thing that the group will not succumb to. 

“What we’re going through is exactly what the protesters want. They want to see us get scared, they want to see a struggle, they want to see these types of events be cancelled. And we’re not going to back down,” Steele said. 

With the help of the community, Queers and Allies applied for and was approved for private insurance. 

“I think we did the right thing, trying to make this known to people that this is what we’re dealing with–not only for resource sake, but just for the whole LGBTQ community and really, the whole the state to know this is what we’re struggling with,” Steele said.

The August 26th event will take place with pride on Oak Street beginning at 2:00 p.m.

BARABOO, Wis. (WKOW) — Queers and Allies, a Baraboo non-profit organization, says their upcoming FreedomFest event has been deemed uninsurable. 

The group said in a Facebook post that the heavy uptick in potential violence against the LGBTQIA+ community has created a high risk to the outside portion of the event. 

Queers and Allies is currently searching for a way to gain insurance and satisfy the city’s requirements regarding the safety of FreedomFest. 

The entertainment portion of the event will still be held at Brothers on Oak from 2 p.m. until close. The group said this part of the event is protected under the bar’s insurance. 

While they continue to work towards securing insurance, Queers and Allies say they urge the community to pledge their support and come to FreedomFest on August 26th.

27 News has reached out to the non-profit for an interview and will update this story if we hear back.