4 could be charged with hate crimes for destroying LGBTQ+ pride flags, Atlanta police say

Source: AP

By JEFF AMY Updated 12:36 PM CDT, June 24, 2025

ATLANTA (AP) — Atlanta police said Tuesday that three men and a juvenile could face hate crimes charges after they pulled down LGBTQ+ pride flags and cut them up at an intersection known as the center of the city’s LGBTQ+ community.

Police say they got calls at 1:40 a.m. Tuesday morning that six males were causing a disturbance near the corner of Piedmont Avenue and 10th Street, an intersection in the city’s Midtown neighborhood that is painted with rainbow crosswalks to honor its importance in Atlanta’s LGBTQ+ community.

The men coordinated their plan and drove to Atlanta from their locations northwest of the city, police said. Officers are still looking for two of the six people who they believe took part.

Investigators initially told news outlets that the men had pulled down flags outside Blake’s on the Park, a bar near the intersection, cutting them up with a knife and taking videos of what they were doing. The males fled from police on motorized scooters, investigators said, with officers catching and arresting four of them.



Read more: https://apnews.com/article/atlanta-lgbtq-flags-hate-crime-arrests-blakes-405ea926ddefe8eb353f0cc1414924ee