Severn man charged with hate crime over damage of BLM, Pride flags outside church

BALTIMORE -- A man from Severn pleaded guilty Tuesday to a hate crime in connection with the destruction of Black Lives Matter and LGBTQ Pride Flags outside a church in Odenton last spring, Anne Arundel County prosecutors announced Friday.  

Prosecutors requested a jail sentence, but the court did not impose one. 

Michal Billups, 29, received a three-year suspended sentence with one-year supervised probation. During that time he will have to complete an anti-bias education program, 48 hours of community service, and to have no contact with the church.

Officers were surveilling the Ark and Dove Presbyterian Church on Piney Orchard Road because of multiple thefts of BLM and Pride flags at the church when on May 19, they saw a man destroy multiple pride flags and hearts in front of the church. 

Billups was arrested after a foot chase toward Odenton Baptist Church where his vehicle was parked, police said. He allegedly matched the description of the suspect in previous vandalism at the church. 

"The defendant took it upon himself to destroy the signs and flags which the church displayed to promote their message of love and acceptance," State's Attorney Anne Colt Leitess said in a statement. "I am committed to prosecuting these crimes because hate-based incidents won't be tolerated in our community."