A suspect has been arrested after a Pride flag hanging outside the Little Prince restaurant in New York City was set on fire.
Angelina Cando has been charged with arson and reckless endangerment – both as hate crimes.
The 30-year-old was also charged with criminal mischief for writing ‘Jesus is King’ on the back of two NYPD squad cars.
CCTV caught the moment the Pride flag was set alight at 1:35am on 20 February.
In the footage, the culprit can be seen stepping out of a white vehicle before using a lighter to set the flag ablaze.
She swiftly gets back into the passenger side of the car and speeds away.
The restaurant was closed at the time and no one was injured by the fire, police confirmed.
Hate in SoHo: Last night this person set fire to the pride flag hanging outside Little Prince restaurant, causing the front of the restaurant to go up in flames. Anyone with info on this should call the Crime Stoppers tip line at 800-577-TIPS.
At 11AM we will re-hang the flag. pic.twitter.com/ydlXKGBJB1
— NYC Council Member Erik Bottcher (@ebottcher) February 20, 2023
One employee, Stu Matz, was inside cleaning and, in the video, can be seen rushing outside to find the flag on fire before calling 911.
“It’s always been a nice, comforting thing to everyone in this neighbourhood because it means it’s diverse and open, and the fact that someone would burn that down is horrific,” he told CBS.
READ MORE: Woman caught setting Pride flag on fire in disturbing CCTV footage
The morning after the incident, City Councilman Erik Bottcher raised a new Progress Pride Flag outside the venue.
“This flag is five times the size of the original flag,” he told onlookers. “The person who did this, their plan has backfired and backfired badly.”
Anyone with information about what happened should call the Crime Stoppers tip line at 800-577-TIPS or get in touch via Twitter @NYPDTips.
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