LGBTQ Pride Month flags vandalized near Stonewall National Monument, police say

CNN
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Flags dedicated to celebrating LGBTQ Pride Month were vandalized this week in New York, according to city police.

Colorful flags near the Stonewall National Monument, located in Manhattan's Greenwich Village neighborhood and dedicated to a turning point in the modern LGBTQ civil rights movement, were removed and damaged Thursday evening, the New York Police Department said in a statement at CNN. .

Authorities received a report early Friday, shortly before 8 a.m. ET, about flags missing from the park where the monument is located.

A preliminary investigation revealed that an unidentified person removed and destroyed 160 flags in the area around 8 p.m. Thursday, according to police.

“The individual then fled the scene to unknown areas,” the statement said.

No injuries were reported and authorities made no arrests. The investigation is ongoing, police said Friday evening.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams commented on the vandalism in a post on X, formerly Twitter, writing: “Hate has no place in our city, and nothing will change that. »

Adams celebrated June's LGBTQ Pride Month on Thursday with a gathering at his residence at the Gracie Mansion Conservancy.

“We love the LGBTQ+ community and celebrate them during Pride and all year long,” the mayor wrote on X. “We will always support you and bring to justice anyone who defaced the Stonewall monument.”

New York Attorney General Letitia James called the vandalism “disgusting” in response to New York City Council Member Erik Bottcher sharing images of the damaged and broken flags in an X post.

Bottcher's post showed a pile of LGBTQ flags on the ground near the Stonewall monument and Christopher Park.

“Anyone who thinks this will intimidate our community is sorely mistaken,” Bottcher wrote.

In 2016, President Barack Obama designated the Stonewall National Monument area, which includes Christopher Park and the historic Stonewall Inn, as America's first national monument dedicated to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights.

The area was the scene of the 1969 Stonewall uprising and protests often cited as a hot spot for LGBTQ rights in the United States.

In June 1969, a police raid on the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar, incited patrons to fight back and eventually led to the first march for gay and lesbian rights.

Last June, the New York Police Department said its Hate Crimes Task Force investigated at least three incidents during Pride Month in which flags at Stonewall National Monument were damaged or removed , CNN previously reported.

CNN's Meron Moges-Gerbi and Nicole Chavez contributed to this report.