Colorado Pride Flag Display Defaced Multiple Times; Confederate Flag Left at Scene

A suburban Colorado Pride flag display commemorating LGBTQ Pride month has been replaced for a third time this week after multiple incidents of flags being stolen and, in one instance, a confederate flag being left in their place.

Leadership in Denver suburb Louisville, CO in cooperation with local LGBTQ advocacy group Out Boulder County planted dozens of rainbow flags at a prominent intersection in the town on June 1 in celebration of the beginning of Pride month, but since then the display has been defaced twice.

According to FOX31, the first instance came on June 2 when witnesses reported seeing a 74-year-old man removing flags at the intersection of Cherry Street and McCaslin Boulevard. A confederate flag was later found in place of the removed flags. The man was issued a citation but it remains unclear if the man also placed the hate symbol in place of what he stole. “It’s certainly disappointing,” Stolzmann said. “But sometimes when you see something like this negative happen, it kind of reminds you why you need to do this kind of activity,” said Louisville Mayor Ashley Stolzmann.

Link to tweet

A second instance of flags being removed occurred shortly after the flags were replaced. The act has become so frequent that Stolzmann carries hammers and mallets in her purse in preparation for another round of plating flags. Out Boulder County is also prepped to keep replenishing the display with a closet full of Pride flags waiting to fly.

Read more: https://www.towleroad.com/2021/06/colorado-pride-flag-defaced/