NEW YORK, NY — (02-20-23) — NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force are looking for a woman suspected of committing a hate crime when she set fire to a PRIDE flag hanging outside of the Little Prince restaurant in Soho.

The alleged hate crime took place around 1:35 a.m. on Monday morning at The Little Prince located at 199 Prince St. The arson was caught on tape and the footage shows a red-haired woman getting out of a white SUV, using a lighter to set the PRIDE flag ablaze, then getting back in the passenger side of the SUV as it drove off.

The rainbow flag bore the phrase “Make America Gay Again,” an obvious lampoon of former President Donald Trump’s slogan. The restaurant was closed at the time of the fire, though workers were still inside, and residents had to be evacuated before emergency services arrived to put out the fire.

Luckily there were no reported injuries and the fire didn’t result in major structural damage to the restaurant. Police say someone intentionally did this and we will find them.

New York City Councilman Erik Bottcher posted video of the fire online, and the NYPD is investigating the incident as a hate crime.

The councilman also appeared at The Little Prince restaurant to raise a new PRIDE flag, telling reporters it was “five times the size of the original.”

“To the person who did this, their plan has backfired, and it backfired badly,” said councilman Erik Bottcher.

If you have any information on this alleged hate crime, please contact the NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force at 1-888-440-HATE or email hctf@nypd.org.

Article by: Paul Goldberg, Staff Writer

Sign Up Below for #JRLCHARTS Breaking News and Follow @JRLCHARTS Daily on Twitter

Related News