Instances of anti-LGBTQ vandalism reported in nearly two dozen states during Pride Month
An NBC News tally found that Pride decorations were stolen or vandalized more than four dozen times in large cities and small towns across the country this month.
Michael Dale expected his city’s LGBTQ Pride decorations to be stolen. By Dale’s count, thieves have taken the rainbow flags that line Boise, Idaho’s iconic Harrison Boulevard every Pride Month since 2018.
But things escalated this year: The city’s roughly 60 flags were torn down not once, not twice, but four times.
“It happens all the time now. We have to go there and put them back up,” said Dale, who is the president of the board of directors of Boise Pride, a local LGBTQ advocacy group that provides and sets up the flags. “But if there’s anything to say about Boise is that we’re resilient. No matter what the cost is, we’re not going to back down.”
Boise is not alone.
An NBC News tally found that Pride flags, rainbow crosswalks and other LGBTQ symbols were stolen or vandalized in more than 40 cities across the country so far this month, according to confirmations from local police, news reports, officials and victims of the incidents. Though many cities and victims reported an increase in these kinds of incidents from prior years, acts of anti-LGBTQ vandalism have long plagued the community.
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