A man tore a pride flag off a Southeast D.C. home, broke its pole against a fence and hurled it to the ground in an incident caught on surveillance video.
The man yelled homophobic slurs throughout the crime on Independence Avenue.
One of the residents of the home, Betty Rhoades, said she and her husband flew the pride flag to show support for a community that’s often faced violent discrimination, both in the D.C. area and around the world.
“To hear him be so disgusted and to have such a violent verbal reaction to the flag … it was really discouraging,” Rhoades said.
While Rhoades said she was — and is — upset by finding the broken flag pole lying on the ground outside her home when she returned Tuesday morning, she won’t let the man’s criminal actions stop her or her husband from showing their support.
“Absolutely, we’ll fly it again,” Rhoades said.
“This is just for anybody walking by to know this is a house where you are safe and supported, and we are trying to fight for you and everybody else to be equal.”
