(ReclaimingAmerica.net) – The New York City police arrested and charged a homeless black man for defecating on a gay pride flag, which constitutes a hate crime according to the NYPD.
You can watch a video of the arrestee that the NYPD put out at the conclusion of this post.
According to the reports, 45-year-old Fred Innocent also used a second gay pride flag to wipe himself.
Innocent took the two flags of a table at a dining shed of the Buceo 95 restaurant in the Upper West Side on April 15, the authorities informed, as cited by The Washington Times.
The incident on the corner of West 95th Street and Amsterdam Avenue occurred around 10 in the morning.
His actions with the gay pride flags were caught on the restaurant’s security cameras.
Besides the hate crime charge, the homeless man was also charged with criminal trespassing and burglary.
“This was a total hate crime,” restaurant owner Courtney Barroll told New York’s Daily News.
“He came in within 15 minutes of us opening up the restaurant. He could have gone to Popeyes or McDonald’s around the corner. He could have used napkins,” she added.
After defecating on the first gay pride flag, Innocent “then drew a smiley face in the disgusting pile,” The New York Post reported, describing the incident footage as “a stomach-churning video.”
It also says the restaurant workers, many of whom are “largely LGBTQ+,” were “horrified by the gross incident.”
“Obviously, we thought it was disgusting. It was sad, it was disgusting,” owner Courtney Barroll told The Post last month.
“It angered me that people in this world have such hatred for others that they could do something so awful and so vile,” she said.
Barroll told her workers the venue would double down on its gay pride flag displays.
“I said, ‘Don’t worry, because, for the two flags that he has taken from us, I will put 50 more up. And I’ll wallpaper the whole restaurant with them’,” she declared.
The “mess” was discovered by restaurant porter Enrique Trujillo, The Post Millennial reported.
“I smelled something really bad. When I started to clean near the corners – that’s when I saw it,” Trujillo explained.
The restaurant owner also said she had used the flags to demonstrate that her venue welcomed gay people.
“We support everyone no matter what kind of background, race or lifestyle,” Barroll stated, arguing that the homeless man defecated on the flags because of hatred for LGBT people.
“He took the only two flags in the area, and he used one to defecate and the other to wipe himself,” she pointed out.
What is your opinion? Is it a hate crime or just extremely disgusting behavior by the man arrested? Share your thoughts by emailing [email protected]. Thank you.
WANTED HATE CRIME On 4/15/23 @ 10:00 AM, inside 201 West 95 St @NYPD24PCT the unidentified individual entered the location & defecated on a Pride flag. Any info call us at 800-577-TIPS or anonymously post a tip on our website https://t.co/TRPPY5zHV2 Reward up to $3,500. pic.twitter.com/BA87hCSyRx
— NYPD Crime Stoppers (@NYPDTips) April 29, 2023
