NEW YORK, NY — (06-13-23) — Three men allegedly damaged multiple rainbow Pride flags on display at New York City’s Stonewall National Monument this past weekend, in what police are calling a possible hate crime.

The New York City Police Department confirmed to JRL CHARTS LGBT Politics News on Monday that it is investigating the incident. They also tweeted surveillance footage of the three men walking near the monument, which is located in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village.

Investigators are asking for the public’s assistance to identify them.

Openly gay New York City Councilmember Erik Bottcher, whose district includes Greenwich Village, also confirmed the vandalism, posting images of the broken rainbow flags on Twitter on Saturday.

“Someone vandalized the rainbow flag display on the Stonewall National Monument on Christopher Street, snapping the flag sticks and throwing them on the ground,” wrote Bottcher on Twitter. “If anyone thinks this is going to intimidate us or weaken our resolve, they’re mistaken.”

The Stonewall National Monument, where the vandalism took place, is across the street from the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar that was the site of a June 1969 uprising that’s widely considered to be a turning point in the modern gay rights movement. The bar and the nearby Christopher Park became a national monument and the first LGBTQ space to hold landmark status in New York City in 2016.

The last vandalism comes amid Pride Month, a worldwide annual commemoration of the 1969 protests and celebration of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people during the month of June.

This attack also coincides with a surge in similar anti-LGBTQ demonstrations across the nation in 2023.

Article by: Paul Goldberg, Staff Writer

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