As we saw in videos from the recent riots in Los Angeles (Politico puts "riots" in quotation marks; Mad Maxine Waters says it was just one or two people being violent), burning the American flag in the street while waving the Mexican flag on top of a burning car is just free speech protected under the First Amendment. But if you damage a Pride flag, look out, because charges are coming your way.
Four people were just arrested in Atlanta, and there's a manhunt for the other two who were seen cutting up Pride flags in the middle of a rainbow crosswalk.
Three men and a juvenile in Atlanta 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, according to Atlanta police. https://t.co/gsXNLL82q5
— NBC News (@NBCNews) June 25, 2025
NBC News reports:
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.
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.
…
A prosecutor would have to decide whether to ask a judge or jury to add additional penalties to any conviction. Georgia's hate crime law, passed in 2020, allows a court to impose additional prison time or fines when a judge or jury finds that a crime was motivated by the victim's race, religion, national origin, sexual orientation or other characteristics.
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National origin? Like Mexican illegals burning American flags? Here's video of the unspeaking incident, if you can stomach it:
Manhunt is underway and possible hate crime charges against teens who tore LGBTQ+ flags (Atlanta, Georgia) pic.twitter.com/Bbu2MTALE8
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) June 25, 2025
You'd better not leave tire marks on those crosswalks, either.
Consider the fact that it's legal to destroy an American flag but not a gay pride flag. Total insanity. https://t.co/viQMbV2DJe
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) June 25, 2025
Rules of a Hate Crime are fluid pic.twitter.com/onaaL3vfxx
— Alec Lace (@AlecLace) June 25, 2025
You cannot commit a hate crime against a flag. That’s their freedom of expression. If we’re allowing the burning of the flag of our country, we’re allowing this.
— JJodie529 (@Jodie529J) June 25, 2025
How can it be a hate crime to tear up a made up flag? Who is the injured party?
— Highlander (@HilandrX) June 25, 2025
We can see them being charged for swiping property that wasn't theirs, but that's about it.
This is theft, not a hate crime.
— Mike Pearson (@TeslaCiviliz8n) June 25, 2025
Serious question. Can I buy my own pride flag, and then burn it? Do I have to be at my own house to do it?
— Ben June (@benjune) June 25, 2025
That's a good question. In the U.K., cops would come knocking at your door if you posted an anti-LGBTQ meme on Facebook.
Looks like peaceful protest to me
— Travis Hall (@Goodells08) June 25, 2025
The whole concept of "hate crimes" was a bad idea to begin with.
— $8 Bartemy (@BartemyS) June 25, 2025
There are crimes of destruction of property and crimes of harms against persons.
It should be left at that.
Make them pay for the flags and give them community service or something.
They call it the Pride flag, but it has just as much of a political agenda attached as any other flag.
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