After a manhunt, Atlanta Police arrested 4 teens for allegedly ripping an LGBTQ flag. Police are reportedly considering hate crime charges.
Burning an American flag = Totally fine
Ripping a Pride Flag = Hate Crime
THE FACTS: 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 report receiving calls at 1:40 a.m. Tuesday morning, 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.
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.
“They’re in the middle of the street popping wheelies, tearing up flags,” a man said in a 911 call that police released.
Two 18-year-olds and a 17-year-old from Dallas, Georgia, were taken into custody, in addition to a 16-year-old from Taylorsville. Police said all four were also charged with obstruction, criminal damage to property, conspiracy, and prowling. Georgia is one of three states where 17-year-old criminal suspects are automatically charged as adults.
