A group of male youths arrived at a rainbow-painted intersection in Midtown Atlanta just before dawn on Tuesday and began tearing down Pride flags, recording videos as they slashed them with a knife, the Atlanta Police Department said in a news conference.
Officers responded at 1:40 a.m. to a disturbance at Piedmont Avenue and 10th Street, a corner known for its symbolic importance to the L.G.B.T.Q. community in Atlanta. The suspects fled on scooters when the police arrived.
By morning, four of them had been arrested, authorities said. Logan Matthison and Ahmed Mechkouri, both 18, and Geami McCarroll, 17, all from Dallas, Ga., were charged with obstruction, criminal damage to property, conspiracy and prowling, the authorities said. A 16-year-old from Taylorsville, Ga., whose name was not released because of his age, faces the same charges.
The arrests came in the final week of Pride Month, a celebration of L.G.B.T.Q. identity and history. The intersection, often called the heart of Atlanta’s L.G.B.T.Q. district, is near the site of the city’s first Pride marches. Its rainbow-painted crosswalks were permanently installed after the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando in 2016.
Under a hate crime law in Georgia, passed in June 2020, crimes motivated by the victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity can lead to enhanced penalties. A misdemeanor offense can carry an additional six to 12 months in prison and a fine of up to $5,000; felonies can result in two to 12 more years behind bars.
All four of those arrested could face additional charges under Georgia’s hate crime law, pending the outcome of the investigation, the authorities said. The group coordinated the act and traveled into the city from northwest Atlanta, the authorities said.
“We’re still looking at all avenues as far as how that charge will possibly come about,” Sgt. Brandon Hayes of the Atlanta Police Department said at a news conference on Tuesday.
In Taylorsville, Ga., the 16-year-old’s father was cited for failing to supervise his son, according to a news release from the Atlanta Police Department.
As of Tuesday afternoon, it was unclear if any of the young men arrested has legal representation. The police are still searching for the other two suspects.
Mark Walker is an investigative reporter for The Times focused on transportation. He is based in Washington.
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