Security footage showing man ripping Pride flags from P.E.I. storefront goes viral
'It definitely did not make me feel safe being here,' says shop owner
A video that shows a man tearing down a string of Pride flags outside a store in Prince Edward Island is going viral across social media, and police are looking for the culprit.
The security footage, captured at 9:11 p.m. on July 19, shows a group of three individuals walking past You Little Witch, a store on 222 Kent St. in Charlottetown.
The video shows one man turning around, tearing up a string of Pride flags decorating the outside of the shop, then throwing them onto the street.
The incident comes less than a week before the annual Pride parade through P.E.I.'s capital city on July 25.
Tiff MacPhee, the store's owner and operator, said it all happened a few minutes after she left the shop that evening.
"I was pretty happy I wasn't here for that," she said. "It definitely did not make me feel safe being here."
MacPhee said she didn't notice the vandalism until she came in the next day and saw the flags ripped off of the fencing that lines the walkway to her store.
"I did a really good knot on those. We have goats that like to get out, so we know how to tie a good knot around here, so I knew the only way they would have come off is force," she said. "I checked our cameras over and saw someone wasn't very happy with our flag displays."
MacPhee said she immediately contacted police after watching the security footage.
Charlottetown Police Services issued a news release Monday urging anyone with information to contact them.
The video has since been uploaded to various social media platforms, earning nearly one million total views and the attention of media organizations from places like the United Kingdom and the U.S.
"There's been influencers on TikTok that are really heavily involved in the gay community... reposting the video," MacPhee said.
"It's pretty incredible. I though maybe [it would get] a couple hundred views, some added donations to the PEERS Alliance, which is amazing, but this is astronomical."
'Match the hate with love'
This isn't the first time the witch-themed store has been targeted.
"Last year, the previous owner had done a fundraiser for PEERS Alliance, and the store had actually gotten egged," MacPhee said. "In the witchy world, egg shells are a sign of fertility, so they were just helping the business."
MacPhee's outlook on this incident is no different. She said she hopes to "match the hate with love."
"I think this shows a lot [about] the other person," she said. "They have a great opportunity here to learn from their mistake and educate themselves, and that's all we can really hope."
It's an important and unfortunate reminder that there is a rise in anti-queer hate.— Josie Baker, PEERS Alliance
MacPhee has since donated $100 to PEERS Alliance — the non-profit organization that supports the LGBTQ+ community in P.E.I. — and she's encouraging Islanders to do the same.
Josie Baker, the alliance's executive director, said donations are welcome, but raising awareness is also important.
"We need to establish that our province is a place where we respect human rights, we respect the queer community, we respect everyone's ability to live safely and be healthy here," Baker said.
"It's an important and unfortunate reminder that there is a rise in anti-queer hate in this time in Canada, and unfortunately Prince Edward Island is not immune to that."
Baker said PEERS Alliance appreciates the number of people watching the video and showing support online.
"These kind of actions happen far more frequently than we see on social media," she said. "Our community doesn't need to be more afraid if other folks have our back. And really, this is an invitation — have our back right now."
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With files from Tony Davis