Naval Academy grad charged with hate crime after pride flag ripped from Annapolis tattoo shop
ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY -- A Naval Academy graduate is facing hate crime charges after Annapolis City police said he ripped a pride flag from a tattoo shop and threw it in the trash.
On November 15, the co-owner of Dapper Dog Tattoo Shop on Maryland Avenue called police to report destruction of property to a flagpole at the store, according to a police report.
Charles Garrett, the co-owner of Dapper Dog Tattoo Shop, told police that he arrived at the store around 10:30 a.m. and noticed a rainbow pride flag had been ripped down from a pole and put into a trash can.
According to the report, the caller said this was the third time someone "intentionally removed the flag from its post without permission."
According to the report, a tip from an employee who worked at a nearby restaurant helped police identify the suspect as Benjamin Michael of Dallas, Texas. Officers said Michael is a Naval Academy graduate and served in the Marine Corps. He was in the area on November 15 for a football game happening the next day, according to the police report.
Michael was charged with a hate crime and destruction of property, the police report shows.
"The whole point is to spread positivity and show that we're a safe space for everyone, so it's kind of like, a little baffling," Garrett told WJZ.
The store's co-owner told police that he installed a security camera outside the business due to the prior incidents.
The store posted a video from the security camera to its social media accounts showing a man in front of the business around 1 a.m. In the video, the man can be seen ripping the pride flag from the pole.
"I wanted everybody out there to know that this kind of stuff is happening, and for there just to be an awareness and for people to have the courage to step up and say no, this isn't cool," Garrett said. "Having the flag, literally it's to show people that this is a safe space, that it's an all-inclusive shop for everyone."
