New York City authorities are looking for a woman suspected of committing a hate crime when she set fire to a pride flag hanging outside of a restaurant in Soho.
The incident took place at around 1:35 a.m. on Monday morning at The Little Prince. The arson was captured on camera, and the footage shows a red-haired woman getting out of a white SUV, using a lighter to set the flag ablaze, then getting back in the passenger side of the car as it drove off.
News outlets reported that the rainbow flag bore the phrase “Make America Gay Again,” an obvious lampoon of former President Donald Trump’s slogan. The restaurant was closed at the time of the fire, though workers were still inside, and residents had to be evacuated before emergency services arrived to put out the fire. No one was injured and the fire didn’t result in major structural damage to the restaurant.
New York City Councilman Erik Bottcher posted video of the fire online, and the NYPD is investigating the incident as a possible hate crime. Bottcher also appeared at The Little Prince to raise a new pride flag, telling reporters it was “five times the size of the original.”
“To the person who did this, their plan has backfired, and it backfired badly,” he said.
Watch above.