Dozens of Pride flags vandalized at Stonewall monument in NYC, 3rd time this month: Police
Written by ABC Audio. All rights reserved. on June 20, 2023
(NEW YORK) — Dozens of Pride flags were vandalized on Sunday at the Stonewall Monument National Park in New York City, according to the New York Police Department.
Police discovered 33 Pride flags broken and on the ground when they arrived on the scene, authorities said, in the latest incident this month of flags at the Greenwich Village site being vandalized.
The NYPD said three men were walking past the monument on June 10, and allegedly broke multiple Pride flags that were on the fence.
In another incident, police found multiple broken Pride flags on June 15 at Stonewall Monument National Park, according to the NYPD.
No arrests have been made in any of the three incidents, and the NYPD’s Hate Crime Task Force is currently investigating.
The Stonewall National Monument didn’t immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
Threats of violence against the LGBTQIA+ community are on the rise and intensifying, according to a May 2023 briefing by the Department of Homeland Security.
Domestic violence extremists and people who commit hate crimes have increased threats of violence against the LGBTQIA+ community within the last year, the DHS document said.
“These issues include actions linked to drag-themed events, gender-affirming care and LGBTQIA+ curricula in schools,” DHS said.
A New York City woman was arrested in February after she was seen on video allegedly setting fire to a gay pride flag outside a Manhattan restaurant.
Angelina Cando, 30, was charged with arson as a hate crime, criminal mischief as a hate crime and reckless endangerment as a hate crime, police said.
Cando was found mentally unfit for trial in May, after a brief appearance in court. She’s still being held at Riker’s women’s facility, court records show. It was unclear when her next court date is.
One out of 10 violent crimes against members of the LGBTQIA+ community is a hate crime, according to a 2022 study by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law.
Members of the LGBTQIA+ community are nine times more likely than those not in the community to be victims of hate crimes, according to the study.
Approximately 20% of all hate crimes reported throughout the country in 2021 were motivated by bias linked to sexual orientation and gender, according to DHS.
Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQIA+ civil rights organization, declared a state of emergency earlier this month for LGBTQIA+ people in the U.S.
The organization cited the record-breaking wave of legislation targeting the LGBTQIA+ community and an increasingly hostile environment.
“The multiplying threats facing millions in our community are not just perceived — they are real, tangible and dangerous,” Kelley Robinson, the president of HRC, said in a statement at the time.
ABC News’ Josh Margolin, Kiara Alfonseca, Aaron Katersky and Emily Shapiro contributed to this report.
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