Joe.My.God. LGBT News
The Associated Press reports:
A U.S. Naval Academy graduate ripped down a tattoo shop’s LGBTQ+ pride flag and put it in the trash, Annapolis police said in documents charging him with a hate crime.
Charlie Garrett, co-owner of the Dapper Dog Tattoo Shop, told police Friday morning that the store had been vandalized. He said it was the third time someone had removed the flag, which reads, “ABIDE NO HATRED.” In response, Garrett said he installed a security camera.
Closed-circuit video footage showed a man in a black puffer-style vest walking toward the store at approximately 1 a.m. Friday, police said, before he “forcefully ripped” the flag from above the shop’s awning. According to charging documents, the man was then seen putting it into a trash can.
CBS News reports:
According to the report, a tip from an employee who worked at a nearby restaurant helped police identify the suspect as Benjamin Michael of Dallas, Texas. Officers said Michael served in the Marine Corps. He was in the area on November 15 for a football game happening the next day.
The store posted a video from the security camera to its social media accounts showing a man in front of the business around 1 a.m. In the video, the man can be seen ripping the pride flag from the pole.
“I wanted everybody out there to know that this kind of stuff is happening, and for there just to be an awareness and for people to have the courage to step up and say no, this isn’t cool,” Garrett said. “Having the flag, literally it’s to show people that this is a safe space, that it’s an all-inclusive shop for everyone.”
The Navy lost that game to Tulane 35-0.
Tulane rolls into the AAC Championship after beating Navy 35-0 pic.twitter.com/dFEpv0JjIU
— wdsu (@wdsu) November 16, 2024