Connecticut Coffee Shop's Pride Flag Burned, Dropped at Front Door

Photo by Markus Spiske from Pexels

The incident isn't the first time LGBTQ+ flags have been targeted in the area.

Neal Broverman

Neal Broverman is the Editorial Director, Print of Pride Media, publishers of The Advocate, Out, Out Traveler, and Plus, spending more than 20 years in journalism. He indulges his interest in transportation and urban planning with regular contributions to Los Angeles magazine, and his work has also appeared in the Los Angeles Times and USA Today. He lives in the City of Angels with his husband, children, and their chiweenie.

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Neal Broverman

April 07 2021 9:15 AM EST

April 07 2021 9:33 AM EST

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A coffee shop in Bethel, Conn., a picturesque town 70 miles north of New York City, was vandalized over the weekend when its Pride flag was torn down, burned, and dropped at the front door of the business.

The owner of Molton Java, Wendy Cahill, found the flag on Sunday morning and alerted police as well as her Facebook followers.

"I love this town. I hesitated thinking that this incident would make anyone question the overwhelming support, kindness and sense of community we have. It's a town full of amazing individuals and I feel very lucky to live and work here," Cahill said in the post.

Cahill's business has been in operation for decades, and she is a prominent member of the community, serving as one of two registrars of voters in the town of over 18,000.

"If I had a chance to talk to [the vandals], I would ask what was the motivation and feeling behind it. Obviously hatred and homophobia but I don't know why they would take the time to express it that way," Cahill told the News-Times. "It's hard to say."

Police are reviewing video footage at the store and aren't yet ready to label the incident a hate crime. A Bethel resident's Pride flag was stolen from outside their home last year and a Pride flag at a church in nearby Danbury was burned twice in 2016.