Two men have been arrested in the theft of LGBTQ Pride flags from outside a queer couple’s home in Arlington, Virginia, over several months.
Matthew Henshaw, 20, was arrested and charged in three of the five thefts that occurred from September to January; he was charged with three counts of bias-motivated unlawful entry and three counts of petit larceny, the Arlington County Police Department said in a statement Friday. Joseph Digregorio, 23, was charged with one count of petit larceny in connection with one of the thefts.
The men are both active members of the U.S. Army with the 3rd Infantry Regiment, also known as the Old Guard, a spokesperson for the Army told NBC Washington.
“We recognize the value of diversity and equality, and the actions of those involved do not represent the values and character of The Old Guard or our Army,” the statement said.
Michelle Logan moved into the Arlington home of her girlfriend, Jenna Burnett, in July, and the couple decided to display a Pride flag outside the house. Two months later, on Sept. 16, the couple woke up to find the rainbow flag had been ripped from its pole. Footage from their Ring security camera showed a man approaching the home around 2:30 a.m. and stealing the flag, the women said.
“The flagpole was completely destroyed,” Logan told NBC News. “We reviewed the footage, and it looked like someone in a cowboy hat and like a flannel just kind of running up and ripping it down, and then sort of running away with his friends.”
Logan and Burnett filed a police report and immediately purchased a new flag to hang outside the home. Logan said replacing the flag was important to the couple as a way to signal their own pride to the broader community.
“Society is so set up for heteronormativity,” Logan said. “As well intentioned as people can be, there’s always going to be an element of not feeling like you fit in when you’re queer. So … we’re doing this for us, putting it up again, but we’re also doing it for the community who may not feel as safe.”
The couple’s flag would go on to be stolen four more times. They notified the police each time and bought new flags. Logan said the incidents have been a reminder that “this can happen really anywhere.”
“People who are in the LGBT community, any queer person, they’re just sort of going to be walking around feeling nervous, and that’s very valid,” she said. “Anywhere you go, there are going to be people who aren’t accepting.”
Last month, after the couple spoke out about the thefts to local news outlets and shared Ring video of the incidents on social media, strangers began offering donations to help them pay for new flags. The couple decided to use the attention to pledge money to LGBTQ organizations each time their flag was stolen and encouraged others to do the same.
“The cowboy doesn’t know it, but he has single handedly raised $1,000+ for The Trevor Project,” Logan said, referring to a national nonprofit that advocates on behalf of LGBTQ youth in crisis.
The Arlington County Police Department said the investigation remains active. Henshaw was released on a secured bond, and Digregorio was released on a summons. Henshaw is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday.
Information about the men’s attorneys was not immediately available.
Over the past year, there have been a number of incidents nationwide involving the theft or vandalism of LGBTQ Pride flags. In June, a flag was burned outside a City Hall building in Tempe, Arizona. Later that month, a group of men damaged a display of flags outside the Stonewall National Monument in New York City. And in a particularly tragic incident, a California store owner and mother of nine was fatally shot in August over a Pride flag displayed at her shop.
There have also been multiple instances of lawmakers and school officials seeking to ban the display of Pride flags on public property. On Monday, an Oklahoma Republican introduced a bill that would prohibit state agencies from displaying LGBTQ Pride flags or from celebrating Pride Month.
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