Person caught on camera tearing down another pride flag from Missoula business
For the second time in two weeks, a person has been caught on surveillance camera ripping down a Pride flag from a downtown Missoula business.
The Import Market, a retail business located across the street from the Missoula County Courthouse on West Broadway in Missoula, posted the video on social media last week.
The video clearly shows a man jumping up to grab the Pride flag, ripping it off the awning and stuffing it in a nearby trash can. Two weeks earlier, on June 12, the business had posted a video of a group of people ripping down a pride flag and stuffing it into the trash can.
Along with the most recent video, the owner of the business (who hasn't responded to a request for comment from the Missoulian) posted a message.
"I hate posting this, I almost didn't because of the backlash from the last one, but vandalism is vandalism, stealing is stealing and I will not tolerate it," the message said. "I'm tired of people walking around downtown, being destructive, and taking what they please. This has got to stop. I'm not the only business being affected here. This is not the Missoula I was born and raised in, and I am determined to be the light in this darkness no one wants to talk about."
June is Pride month in the U.S., and the nonprofit Western Montana LGTBQ+ Community Center posted on social media that they also had Pride flags vandalized in June.
The owner of the Import Market filed a report with the Missoula Police Department, and Detective Ethan Smith is investigating.
"We've hung flags for years, and it saddens me that suddenly, people think it's ok to tear something down they don't agree with," the Import Market wrote. "I also want to apologize for these vandalism posts being what has been showing up from our business as of late. Quite honestly, it drains me so much that I don't even have the energy to post the bright and happy stuff."
A spokesperson for the Missoula Police Department did not immediately return a request for information on whether this new incident was being investigated.
David Erickson is the business reporter for the Missoulian.
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