Story at a glance
- An LGBTQ+ center in North Carolina has said it will reward $500 to anyone with information leading to the arrest of the two individuals who stole the organization’s pride flag Wednesday evening.
- Two people were caught in surveillance footage ripping down the flag that had been hanging outside the the Guilford Green Foundation & LGBTQ Center in Greensboro.
- Some of the city’s LGBTQ+ community have said the crime, while minor in and of itself, is a reminder that “hatred” is still out there.
An LGBTQ+ community center in North Carolina is offering a cash reward for information tied to the theft of the building’s pride flag, which was stolen Wednesday evening.
Surveillance footage posted to the Facebook page of the Guilford Green Foundation & LGBTQ Center on Thursday shows two individuals ripping down an LGBTQ+ pride flag that had been hanging outside the group’s center in Greensboro, N.C. around 9:15 p.m. on Wednesday.
The organization on Facebook said it was offering a $500 reward for any information leading to the two individuals’ arrest.
“We fly the Pride flag outside of the LGBTQ center to celebrate Greensboro’s diversity,” the group wrote on Facebook. “This act of intentional vandalism can not be ignored anytime or anywhere and especially not when it is directed at a safe place for LGBTQ people.”
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Guilford Green Foundation & LGBTQ Center Executive Director Jennifer Ruppe told the Greensboro News and Record on Monday that she still does not know the identities of the two people involved in the theft, but she’s comforted by the fact that photos and videos of the incident are being circulated widely through the community.
“I think that’s a real testament to our city,” Ruppe said. She added that the group has filed a police report regarding the theft of the flag.
One of the center’s volunteers, C. Rizleris, told the News and Record that news of the crime was “scary,” and shook some members of Greensboro’s LGBTQ+ community.
“It was a reminder that there’s still the hatred out there,” Rizleris, 36, said. “We want our youth to know they have a safe space, a protected space.”
Rizleris said that, although the crime on its own is a relatively minor offense, it still cuts deep through a community that is often discriminated against.
“I really hope the community can step in to make sure something like that doesn’t happen again,” Rizleris said. “We have to keep showing up.”
Since the incident last week, the group has raised a new LGBTQ+ flag outside its center.
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