Atlanta police have arrested several teenagers following the destruction of Pride flags outside Blake’s on the Park, a landmark gay bar in the city’s Midtown district. The incident occurred early Tuesday morning and has been described as a potential hate crime.
Surveillance footage captured around 1:40 a.m. shows six males—some riding motorised scooters—cutting up rainbow flags at an intersection known for its Pride-themed crosswalks. A bystander called 911, reporting: “They’re in the middle of the street popping wheelies, tearing up flags.”
When police arrived, the group attempted to flee on scooters. Four of the six were apprehended swiftly, according to a police statement. Those arrested include four 16-year-olds, 17-year-old Geami McCarroll, 18-year-old Logan Matthison, and 18-year-old Ahmed Mechkouri. Authorities noted that some of the teens came from suburban areas outside Atlanta to carry out the act.
All six face charges, including obstruction, criminal damage to property, conspiracy, and prowling, with possible hate crime enhancements under consideration. Police are still searching for the two remaining suspects.
This is just one in a string of recent acts of anti-LGBTQ+ vandalism across the United States. Earlier this month in State College, Pennsylvania, 27-year-old Markos Bejiga was arrested for allegedly burning Pride flags and shouting anti-LGBTQ+ slurs outside a church. In San Francisco, a man was caught defacing the city’s symbolic Pink Triangle display on Twin Peaks. And in Florida, a man was fined nearly $6,000 after using his vehicle to damage a rainbow-painted intersection commemorating victims of the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting.
The rise in such incidents coincides with conservative political efforts in various states to ban rainbow Pride symbols from government properties, calling them “divisive.”
Blake’s on the Park has yet to release an official statement, but LGBTQ+ advocates and community members are calling for accountability and stronger protections in response to the growing wave of targeted vandalism.
