“That said, true justice should always strive to be about rehabilitation, reconciliation and healing communities. “Hate crimes against the LGBTQ community are a serious matter as they inflict distinct emotional harms on their victims, and strike fear into the communities they target,” Reyes said. He was sentenced to 15 years for arson as a hate crime, one year for reckless use of explosives or fire and 30 days for harassment, according to the report.Ĭourtney Reyes, executive director of the statewide LGBTQ group One Iowa, told the network she appreciates how seriously the case was handled, but added the imposed sentence might actually be taking things too far. “I burned down their pride, plain and simple,” Martinez told local outlet KCCI back in June. Martinez admitted he did it because he opposes homosexuality, and a jury convicted him last month, according to NBC News. LI man threatened to 'assault, shoot and bomb' NYC Pride, LGBT orgs and individualsĪn Iowa man will spend up to 16 years behind bars for stealing a pride flag from an Iowa church and setting it on fire - a sentence that even a local LGBTQ group says might be excessive, according to a new report.Īdolfo Martinez, 30, of Ames, was sentenced Wednesday for stealing the pride banner hanging at Ames Church of Christ back in June - and then burning it with lighter fluid and a lighter outside the Dangerous Curves Gentleman’s Club, The Des Moines Register reported.
Marine Corps sparks outrage with rainbow bullets to mark Pride month Rufus Wainwright on Judy Garland at 100 and why she's the ultimate gay icon The total of reported hate crimes were listed at 184 on June 2, when the city released its most-recent monthly crime report.'So dangerous': Critics protest DeSantis' NYC speech over so-called 'Don't Say Gay' law A 48% increase from the same period last year, as overall crime decreases. The department said it had recorded 220 reported hate crimes year-to-date. Hate crime is on the rise in the cityįurthermore, the incident comes as the city battles with a spike in hate crimes.Anti-LGBTI crimes jumped 20% from a year ago as of 2 June, the NYPD said at a press conference earlier this week. On 31 May, the suspect leant down and lit the flag – which was acting as a red carpet rope – to the dismay of bar owners and locals. Moreover, the incident came just five weeks after surveillance cameras caught a man lighting two rainbow flags on fire at the club. ‘Your calls to and the efforts of our detectives have led to the identification and apprehension of the individual who burned the pride flag,’ Shea tweeted on Tuesday.Īlthough he did not release any details about the suspect in custody, he did tweet a screenshot image of the suspect.įew minutes ago, someone set our rainbow flags on fire! To the homophobic coward, we will make our mission to find you! It’s #pridemonth motherfucker! #pride #lgbtpride #gaybar #gaybarnyc #Harlem #gayharlem #gayinstagram ?️??️??️??️??️??️??️??️??️??️??️??️??️??️??️??️??️??️??️??️??️??️??️??️??️??️??️??️??☠️Ī post shared by Alibi Lounge on at 9:50pm PDT Your calls to and the efforts of our detectives have led to the identification and apprehension of the individual who burned the pride flag.
With Minko documenting the two incidents on the club’s Instagram and CCTV catching the suspect, New York governor Andrew Cuomo quickly assigned the Hate Crime task force to investigate.īut just a day after this, NYPD Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea said officers made the arrest thanks to tips from the community. One has to wonder if there’s a kind of message they’re trying to send.’ ‘One was at the beginning of Pride and one was right at the end. ‘I have to say that what I find odd was the timing of both events,’ he told NBC. Sad to report that few weeks after the first incident, someone has once again set our pride flags on fire! We simply have no words! #Harlem #gaybar #pride #gaypride #nycpride #worldpride ?️??️??️????Ī post shared by Alibi Lounge on at 10:15pm PDT