Pride flags vandalized at Stonewall monument 3 times during Pride Month so far
NEW YORK — Dozens of LGBTQ+ Pride flags were damaged and ripped down at the Stonewall National Monument over the weekend, the third such bout of vandalism at the LGBTQ+ landmark during this Pride Month, police said.
The latest occurrence happened Sunday, after others Thursday and June 9. No arrests have been made in any of the incidents, and it’s unclear whether they were connected. The New York Police Department’s Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating.
On Sunday, officers were called about 8 a.m. and found about 33 Pride flags broken and tossed to the ground, police said.
Park volunteer Steven Menendez told New York’s Fox 5 News that, in all, 68 flags — nearly a quarter of those displayed — were damaged in some way.
From Toluca Lake to the Shakespeare Bridge, burning, shredding and stealing Pride flags has only inspired ‘tremendous support’ for LGBTQ+ people.
“We have so much hatred and anger in the air right now,” Menendez told the station. “We really need to reverse that and replace it with love, compassion and acceptance.”
The Stonewall National Monument, the first U.S. national monument dedicated to LGBTQ+ history, was dedicated in 2016. It encompasses a park across the street from the Stonewall Inn, a bar where patrons fought back against a police raid June 28, 1969, and helped spark the contemporary LGBTQ+ rights movement.
The Stonewall rebellion is commemorated every year with pride marches in cities across the U.S. and the world.
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