BALTIMORE — A Baltimore church found one of its LGBTQ+ Pride flags torn outside their congregation on Sunday.
Light Street Presbyterian Church in Federal Hill is an LGBTQ-affirming church and has been since 1996.
Baltimore Police confirmed to WMAR-2 News that they are treating the incident as a hate crime.
Tim Hughes Williams, a pastor with the church, says the church is in a generally supportive area and a supportive city, but this was upsetting.
"When you are a very visible LGBTQ-affirming congregation, you sort of brace yourself for this moment," Hughes said.
"I think this is a space where some people feel they’re safest," Hughes added. "So it feels a violation of a very sacred space. But also - the flags themselves, and the reaction they provoke in people, it reminds me of why we do it in the first place."
"In a world that doesn’t feel safe to a lot of people, we want to be clear this is a safe space,” Hughes continued.
The house of worship itself has been around since 1855, serving Baltimore as a Presbyterian church.
"My thought was to replace it, simply because they’re not going to intimidate us," said Stephen Ruger, a church member. "They’re not going to make us back down or not say what we believe."
As of Monday, police did not have a suspect in custody.
The church has started a GoFundMe with the first $350 going towards a new flag.
Every other dollar will go to FreeState Justice, who provide direct legal services to LGBTQ+ Marylanders.
