An Alexandria woman said she was removed from a talk featuring Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett at the National Book Festival in D.C. because she wore a “Handmaid’s Tale” costume.
Shawna Flener, a self-described “huge reader” with a TikTok following focused on books, attended the event Saturday, Sept. 6. She said the costume was part of a silent statement in response to the conservative justice’s presence at the festival.
“I was very much looking forward to the festival, but a lot of people were upset, me included, about Amy Coney Barrett being there and being, you know, one of the featured authors,” Flener said.
While Flener said she was genuinely interested in hearing the justice speak, she also wanted to express a viewpoint through her attire — a red cloak and white bonnet inspired by Margaret Atwood’s dystopian novel.
“The Handmaid’s Tale is a very classic and well-known symbol of this cautionary tale, right? You know? And what happens when women lose bodily autonomy,” she said. “It was definitely a statement about that and the direction I feel our country is headed.”
Flener said she entered the auditorium and was directed by staff toward available seats near the front. Before she could sit down, she said an officer told her she couldn’t sit there and directed her to the side of the room. While standing there, she quietly opened and began reading her book.
“Absolutely not out loud. No, quietly. This was whenever I was already asked to step to the side, which I immediately complied with, and went to the side,” she said.
She said a security officer then asked her to put the book away, and another told her she could not remain in the session.
Flener was escorted outside the auditorium and began recording her interactions with security and a D.C. police officer. She said she was told the Supreme Court Police Department had decided she could not reenter the session. One guard referenced an “incident.”
Because no video was taken inside the auditorium, there is no documentation of what occurred during that portion of the event.
@shawnainchapterland I just got kicked out of the National Book Festival, happening in Washington DC without saying a word (aside from responding to security and the police.) #booktok #nationalbookfestival ♬ original sound – Shawna
In the videos she shared, Flener can be heard asking for clarification on why she was barred from returning. A security guard tells her D.C. police would be called if she attempted to reenter.
Flener said she was initially told she could wait outside, but after trying to reenter, she was escorted out of the convention center entirely.
“The person in question passed by all the seats in the Main Stage auditorium and approached the stage, and that’s when she was politely intercepted by Supreme Court Police and escorted out by security guards. She was offered an opportunity to remain at the festival but not in that session. She persistently tried to regain entry to the Main Stage. After that, she was escorted out,” the Library of Congress, which hosted the event, said in a statement to WTOP.
Flener offered a different account, saying she did not attempt to approach the stage and that she was following staff directions. She also said she was not given a real opportunity to remain at the festival.
“I think I have the right to express that viewpoint in a public space, which is where I was, and I believe that fact that I was permitted to enter the event,” Flener said.
She said she still doesn’t know who made the final decision to remove her from the festival — whether it was the Library of Congress, event management or law enforcement.
WTOP reached out to the Supreme Court Police for comment but did not receive a response.
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