DOJ called to assist in investigation of Pride flag thefts in Carnation

Four Western Washington cities are reporting an uptick in Pride flag theft, among them the town of Carnation. City officials, there are now calling on the Department of Justice for help investigating these hate crimes.

Saturday morning, downtown businesses found dozens of flag poles damaged and a handful of homeowners waking up to find hate-filled “white-lives-matter” fliers on their front lawns.

Over the last few weeks, the city of Carnation has become a rainbow-colored beacon in the Snoqualmie Valley. Gregory Jaimel, founder of SnoValley Pride, reports of the nineteen businesses in the downtown corridor, sixteen proudly fly the flag.

“We’ve seen so many people who have lived here for generations, who never thought this would happen here in Carnation,” said Jamiel.

It’s Jamiel’s suspicion that this sudden increase in LGBTQ visibility has made Carnation a target for hate. Tuesday, a mere 72 hours after suspects were caught on surveillance footage vandalizing businesses and stealing flags, they returned to steal five more.

“Go for it, pull them down,” said Jaimel. “We’re going to put them back up. There’s no way that we’re going to let these flags stay down for the rest of June.”

The problem is not exclusive to a single Puget Sound city, authorities have received similar reports in Tacoma and Everett.

Doug Blay lives on the Everett-Mukilteo border and tells KIRO 7′s Lauren Donovan within the last two years his Pride flag has been stolen nine different times. It’s gotten so bad that Blay even started sewing air tags into them.

“I’m not looking for revenge or retaliation,” said Blay. “I would prefer people found a way to be understanding and accepting.”

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