A pride flag displayed at a library in Newberg, Oregon, was shot at with a pellet gun this week, according to police, who are investigating it as a possible hate crime. The alleged act of vandalism marks the latest in a slew of similar attacks across the country within days of the start of Pride Month.
Newberg Public Library shared an image of the alleged vandalism on its Facebook account Wednesday and said in a statement that no one was injured. The image shows a rainbow flag displayed behind a shattered window.
Robert Mitchell, a detective with the Newberg-Dundee Police Department, said in a phone call that no other parts of the building were visibly damaged and that the incident is being investigated as a possible hate crime. Mitchell declined to say if police believe that one or possibly multiple people shot at the library’s exterior. No arrests have been made, he added.
The mayor of Newberg, a town about 25 miles southwest of Portland, condemned the act as “abhorrent” and vowed to find the person or people behind it.
“Whether or not the coward(s) who performed this act had an ulterior motive, misses the point,” Newberg Mayor Bill Rosacker said in a statement. “The act was an attack on the citizens of Newberg and will not be allowed to pass without consequences.”
Rosacker added that “there is a very good chance” authorities will identify the perpetrator soon because “there are cameras everywhere.”
The attack in Newberg was just the latest in a slate of attacks against the LGBTQ community and queer symbolism within days of the start of Pride Month.
In the days leading up to June, over 200 pride flags were stolen from a town center in Carlisle, Massachusetts. And in Mitchell, South Dakota, a church known for its embrace of the LGBTQ community was vandalized with a reading from the Bible condemning homosexuality and the word “ABOMINATION” graffitied in bright red ink on its sidewalk.
On the first morning of the month, residents of Poulsbo, Washington, woke up to find the city’s 14 rainbow pride banners slashed. And on Monday, Colorado’s Republican Party posted on X: “Burn all the #pride flags this June.”
There were at least 145 incidents of harassment, vandalism and assault directed at LGBTQ people and events across the country during last year’s Pride Month, according to the LGBTQ media advocacy group GLAAD.
“Attacks and threats on Pride symbols are meant to intimidate, harass, erase and silence LGBTQ people and our allies, but they are largely unsuccessful,” Sarah Kate Ellis, GLAAD president and CEO, said in a statement. “More people are attending Prides, more companies are sponsoring Prides, more communities are organizing and hosting Prides because they are amazing ways to show solidarity and support for all in the community and especially to express a community’s values of welcome, safety, diversity and acceptance.”
This week’s alleged act of vandalism was not Newberg’s first controversy involving the pride flag. In 2021, the Newberg School Board made national headlines for voting to ban pride flags, Black Lives Matter signs and other “political” symbols from school campuses. The school board rescinded the policy last year.
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