Do Pride flag incidents meet hate crime standards?

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – More than mid-way through Pride Month and there has been a string of incidents across central Ohio in which Pride flags were stolen or defaced.

Last week, a Pride flag was painted in front of Whitehall’s city hall building. The mayor said it was in response to recent hate city workers received while painting the crosswalks. Now, a Whitehall city council member had his Pride flag destroyed late Sunday night.

This is not the first time something like this has happened. NBC 4 asked the Columbus city attorney what has to happen to charge someone for committing a hate crime.

“It angers me to see that folks are committing crimes against people that are our neighbors, our friends, our loved ones, just because of who they are,” Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein said.

According to Klein, Columbus has ethnic intimidation laws, more commonly known as hate crimes. He said stealing a Pride flag, by itself, may not necessarily mean it’s a hate crime. Klein said that while that is a crime, there has to be evidence that shows it was committed because the victim is part of the LGBTQ+ community.

“We take this very seriously and we ask if we can prove the case,” he said. “We want accountability for the individuals that are doing this to our friends and our neighbors.”

Whitehall City Councilmember Gerald Dixon said that late Sunday night, he heard individuals outside his home. At the time, he thought nothing of it, but when he went to check, he found his Pride flag destroyed and in pieces.

“There was definitely anger behind it, and as you'll see with the flag itself, there was violence,” he said.

Dixon said that while he’s never had this happen to him before, he won’t back down.

“I will not tolerate the bullying, that's how they win,” Dixon said. “You just can't allow that to escalate and get out of hand.”

Klein said he wants to protect the victims, which is why if he can charge someone with a hate crime, he will.

“We want the perpetrator to be held accountable and that they have a willing partner in the city attorney's office to prosecute the individual to the fullest extent of the law, when we can, to hold that individual accountable,” Klein said.

In response to his Pride flag being destroyed, Dixon says that he already ordered more flags and plans on placing them throughout his yard.