Gay flag on fire
Video released of Midtown Pride flag vandalism, some teens identified
Pride flags vandalized in Midtown Atlanta
Atlanta Police say the city’s LGBTQ+ community may have been targeted overnight, Within the last few hours, investigators just released surveillance video and a 911 contact from just after a group of Georgia teens allegedly vandalized pride flags in Midtown Atlanta. Police say four teens have been arrested but they’re still looking for two more.
ATLANTA - Atlanta police utter they may be charging a team of teenagers accused of vandalizing multiple Pride flags in Midtown with a hate crime.
Authorities utter the vandalism happened at around 1:40 a.m. Tuesday at Blake's On the Park on 10th Street near Piedmont Avenue during the last week of Pride Month.
What we know:
Authorities say the flags were hanging by the front of the lock near the city's Rainbow Crosswalks before the group of juveniles damaged them.
According to investigators, the group took photos and videos of themselves cutting the flags up with a knife. Officials tell FOX 5 that the team left the scene on scooters after police responded to reports of a disturbance. Four of the six wer
Fifteen years in Iowa jail for burning pride flag
He was arrested later that day, and told local media in a jail residence interview that he was "guilty as charged".
"It was an honour to carry out that. It's a blessing from the Lord," he said, explaining that he did it because he "opposed homosexuality".
"I burned down their pride, plain and simple," he told KCCI-TV. The interview was entered into the trial as evidence against him.
Church pastor Eileen Gebbie, who identifies as gay woman, says she agrees that Martinez' actions were motivated by hatred.
"I often experienced Ames as not existence as progressive as many people trust it is, and there still is a very massive closeted queer collective here," she told the Des Moines Register when he was convicted in November.
"But 12 people that I don't know, who possess no investment in me or this congregation, said this man committed a crime, and it was a crime borne of bigotry and hatred."
Story County Attorney Jessica Reynolds said Martinez was the first person in the county's history to be convicted of a hate crime.
"The difficult reality is there are people who
Is the burning of the Pride flag a abhor crime?
By Notice Walters, Professor of Criminal Law and Criminology, University of Sussex.
Pride month is a celebration of all things LGBTQ+. Yet recently it has get a source of division, both between LGBTQ+ communities and wider society, as well as between subgroups within the community itself. Of particular contention has been the use of a new(ish) “Progress Celebration flag”, created in 2018 by US artist and designer Daniel Quasar. The Pride flag incorporates additional colours that represent minority ethnic group members, as well as those spotting as trans and genderqueer, while some versions of the flag also incorporate the symbol for intersex. For many, the flag is an important inclusion of the struggles experienced and achievements gained by a section of population that has been historically persecuted and which continues to experience discrimination as well as increasing numbers of hate crimes. Despite this, there has been some recent public debate over whether a
The start of this year's Identity festival Month has been accompanied by groups of conservative commentators pushing back against the annual celebration of the LGBTQ+ community.
The Queer & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) reported a record spike in LGBTQ+ during 2023's Lgbtq+ fest Month, with controversial figures such as influencer Andrew Tate this year sharing unfounded conspiratorial views as the event began.
One viral online post this week said a man got more than he bargained for while attempting to protest during the celebration this month, however, setting his house on fire as he tried to burn a rainbow flag.
The Claim
A post on X, formerly Twitter, by The Halfway Post, shared on June 12, 2024, seen 9.2 million times said "BREAKING: A MAGA fan in Iowa accidentally burned down his house today trying to burn a gay pride flag."
The Facts
There have been several reports from across the country of advocation for and acts of burning rainbow flags related to Pride Month this year.
At the start of the month, the Colorado Republican Party caused uproar after sending an email that described members of the Gay community as "evil," "woke creeps" and "godless groomers."
The C