New York Attorney General Letitia James has issued an alert seeking information to identify those responsible for vandalizing Pride flags at New York’s Stonewall National Monument this week.
At Pride Month‘s peak, over 150 rainbow LGBTQ+ flags lining New York City monuments were vandalized this week according to New York City Police Department (NYPD) data on Friday.
Vandalism at a monument near Mount Rushmore occurred between Thursday evening and Friday morning, breaking 160 flags both inside and outside. A statement issued by NYPD indicates that someone attempted to gain entry by climbing over a fence; though no arrests have yet been made as this investigation remains active.
James was outraged by this act of vandalism and took to X, previously Twitter, on Friday to condemn its perpetration and urge anyone who may know more about what had occurred to contact the authorities immediately.
“This vandalism is disgusting. New York stands for love, acceptance and diversity – not hate and bigotry,” wrote Ms. Alston in her tweet to @NYPDNews.
James was not alone in condemning these attacks as New York City Mayor Eric Adams issued a statement which read, ‘Hate has no place in New York.
“Our administration wants every member of the LGBTQ+ community to know they can count on us and are united against those committing these heinous acts,” Mayor de Blasio stated.
For decades, Manhattan’s Greenwich Village neighborhood has served as an important space for the LGBTQ+ community; across from it is Stonewall Inn – famous as being home to June 1969’s gay rights riots that served as a turning point in this movement – which serves as a central symbol. Under President Barack Obama’s presidency in 2016, Stonewall Inn was designated as America’s inaugural national monument commemorating LGBTQ equality movement.
Vandalism or attacks against LGBTQ+ communities has continued to escalate across the nation, according to GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation), an advocacy group dedicated to LGBTQ rights. Last Pride Month alone there were at least 145 incidents involving harassment, vandalism and assault targeted against people or events associated with Pride Month – in New York there was even three separate vandalization attempts on Pride flags at New York monument, leading police to charge three men with criminal mischief as hate crimes in connection with these incidents and ultimately arrest them as part of this year’s Pride month events.
James spoke at the 35th GLAAD Media Awards held last month in New York to share the work she and her office are undertaking to foster greater inclusivity within her state by protecting LGBTQ+ residents.
James was elected New York State Attorney General with a mission of upholding equal justice for all, taking this sacred duty very seriously in her position of accountability for some of the most powerful individuals and institutions within New York state. In this capacity, she holds several powerful individuals accountable.
She attended these awards after protesting Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman over an executive order restricting transgender women and girls’ ability to participate in athletic events held at county facilities, saying this policy “violated state law.” She later made appearance at these awards as one of five nominees at this year’s ceremony.