"A Florida man has reportedly been arrested after violently ripping down a Pride flag in a local Starbucks, demanding the staff display the American flag instead. 31-year-old Tucker Alden Kemp reportedly went on a major anti-LGBTQ+ tirade inside a branch of the international coffee shop in St Petersburg, Florida. According to an arrest affidavit, Kemp entered the shop and told the manager the flag was offensive and should be replaced with the Star Spangled Banner."
"He was then arrested and taken to the Pinellas County Jail where he was kept for six hours before being released on a $500 bond. Police have charged him with criminal mischief, a misdemeanor. The incident cost the Starbucks branch at least $210 worth of damage to the wall and the flag, according to local outlet FOX13. The Smoking Gun reports that Kemp, the father of a young girl, is a registered Republican and works as a sales manager at a funeral home chain."
Tucker Alden Kemp, 31, entered a Starbucks in St. Petersburg, Florida, and demanded staff replace a Pride flag with the American flag. Kemp threw tea on the flag, ripped it off the wall, and discarded it in a rubbish bin after being told store policy allowed the Pride flag. He was arrested, held six hours in Pinellas County Jail, and released on a $500 bond; police charged him with misdemeanor criminal mischief. The incident caused at least $210 in damage. Kemp is a registered Republican, a father, and a sales manager. FBI statistics show at least 160 vandalism acts motivated by anti-LGBTQ+ views in the past year, with 154 reported assaults. Florida has seen increased anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric tied to Governor Ron DeSantis’ policies, and the Florida Department of Transportation has removed several rainbow crosswalks citing “social, political, or ideological messages.” A rainbow crosswalk dedicated to the victims of the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting was removed by state officials.
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