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Vandals remove and destroy Pride flags in downtown Missoula
MISSOULA – Pride Month is a celebration of diversity and equity for members of the LGBTQ+ community, and many downtown Missoula businesses are celebrating. But a local business was the target of alleged hate crimes this week.
Vandals recently removed and destroyed Pride flags from a downtown Missoula business. Import Market reports on Instagram that the flags were removed, torn up and then defecated.
According to the company, flags have been hung at the Import Market in support of Pride Month for years and an incident like this has never happened before.
MTN contacted the Missoula Police Department, who confirmed they were aware of the incident.
No official report has been filed by Import Market at this time, however, the company plans to do so.
The LGBTQ+ Community Center of Western Montana sent the following statement to MTN.
“We will not be intimidated. We will not be intimidated. We will not let hate win. Come out and support the LGBTQ+ community this weekend at Missoula Pride. Pride is Prevention,” said Andy Nelson, the Executive Director.
MTN spoke with an Import Market employee who said this is not a representation of the Missoula community.
“I think these people lack discipline, they lack love in their hearts. They lack the understanding that we can all be different people and still get along and be a community,” said Madeline Stevenson. “And it’s a shame because Missoula isn’t like that and this isn’t a good representation of our place’s behavior right now, with pride happening this weekend.
Watch an extensive interview with Import Market employee Madeline Stevenson below.
EXTENDED INTERVIEW: Madeline Stevenson Discusses Pride Flag Vandalism
– information from Kathryn Roley included in this report
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“They decided it was a great idea to urinate on them and then throw them away and that’s basically expressed as a hate crime. My management and my boss – my boss and the owner of this building – are very unhappy. Both are from the same family. It’s really frustrating. It would happen anyway. But during Pride Month, it gets even worse,” said employee Stevenson.
The question remains: what will happen next? Stevenson said even if there are only three employees, it will be possible to file a police report.
“And as a result, this has caused a lot of – raised a lot of eyebrows and people have been asking how do we report this to the police. Are we going to find these people? Shall we bring them to justice? And of course, the answer to all of that is yes, it’s just the fact that it’s – it’s just me, it’s just her and then her husband – all working. It’s just us. And because of that, we have a lot of things we need to work on anyway. This is just one more thing to add to the pile, but we’ll take care of it.” – Madeline Stevenson, Import Market employee
The flags have disappeared and been torn down, but Stevenson says even though the flags are gone, she is disappointed in the thoughts and actions of this group.
“Unfortunately, this requires people to feel the need to project their insecurities, their grievances with different social issues, destroying property and doing so. This is as disrespectful as it could be. And it’s a shame. I think these people lack discipline, they lack love in their hearts,” Stevenson said.
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