Vandalism outside Pride building investigated as hate crime: 'Vile act of hate,' mayor says

Source: msn/ABC News

12h


A utility box in front of the Pride building in Long Beach, California, was vandalized this weekend in an incident police are investigating as a hate crime.

The culprit drew a swastika and wrote derogatory language toward the LGBTQ+ community, according to images released by Long Beach Pride. "MAGA" was also written on the utility box.

The vandalism was reported around 5:42 p.m. on Saturday and is "being investigated as hate/bias motivated," Long Beach police said. Long Beach Pride is the organization behind the annual Pride Festival in Long Beach, a coastal city south of Los Angeles.

"We’re going on our 43rd year, our 43rd Pride celebration," Long Beach Pride President Tonya Martin told ABC News. "The organization was set up for raising funds for other community members, scholarships and such, to help our community." “We’ve had some vandalism here and there, but this is the first time it was so blatant. It was, to me, like a death threat," she said.

Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/vile-act-of-hate-vandalism-outside-pride-building-investigated-as-hate-crime/ar-AA1Na66H