Six charged over Destiny Church Pride library storytime protest can now be named

Destiny Church groups Man Up and Legacy Sisterhood protest against a children's library drag event at Te Atatū Community Centre.

Six of the seven people charged following the violent Destiny Church-linked Auckland Pride library storytime protest can now be named.

The six people facing charges for the West Auckland protest are Phineas Mann, Hector Gardiner, Campbell Harvey, Bryan French, Karen Robinson and Tianarangi Robinson. A teenager continues to have name suppression.

Authorities investigated allegations of assault after a group of about 50 people entered the Te Atatū Community Centre in February this year and refused to leave.

The library had been hosting a Pride Festival Drag Queen storytime event. A 16-year-old girl swept up in the confrontation – after initially attending a sports event at the venue – suffered a concussion during the fracas, her mother said.

The group originally lost their bids for interim suppression in March, but the defence indicated it would appeal the decision, so the defendants couldn’t be identified until now after their appearance in the Auckland District Court yesterday.

In March, Community Magistrate Fenella Thomas granted interim name suppression to one defendant, a teenager, citing her age.

The 19-year-old continues to have name suppression.

French and Mann have both pleaded not guilty and elected a jury trial, which has been set down for next October.

Bryan French at Waitākere District Court - one of the seven people charged with offences following a Destiny Church-linked protest during a drag event at an Auckland community centre last month. Photo / Michael Craig.

Bryan French, 67, is charged with two counts of assault under the Summary Offences Act and one count of assault under the Crimes Act.

A previous charge of indecent assault was dropped.

Hector Gardiner, 55, in his first appearance at Waitākere District Court. Photo / Michael Craig

Hector Gardiner, 55, faces charges of assault.

Campbell Harvey, 47, in his first appearance at Waitākere District Court. Photo / Michael Craig

Campbell Harvey, 47, was charged with assault.

Phineas Mann, 44, at his first appearance at Waitākere District Court. Photo / Michael Craig

Phineas Mann, 44, has been accused of injuring with reckless disregard.

Tianarangi Robinson, 28, at her first appearance at Waitākere District Court. Photo / Michael Craig

Tianarangi Robinson, 28, was charged with two counts of assault.

Karen Robinson, 50, was charged with assault, and the 19-year-old woman was charged with one count of assault.

The protest elicited criticism from both Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, who said the church went “too far”.

Clarification: The story has been updated to reflect changes to Mann’s and French’s charges.

Jaime Lyth is a multimedia journalist for the New Zealand Herald, focusing on crime and breaking news. Lyth began working under the NZ Herald masthead in 2021 as a reporter for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei.