by A woman was arrested Tuesday and charged with multiple hate crimes after she allegedly turned an LGBTQ pride flag hanging from a Manhattan restaurant Monday.
Angelina Cando, 30, was charged with three hate crimes including arson, criminal mischief and reckless endangerment, according to the New York City Police Department.
Surveillance piece of film of the incident, released by the NYPD, appears to show a woman exiting a white SUV before walking up to the Little Prince in Manhattan’s Soho neighborhood while setting a rainbow pride flag on fire in what appears to be an eastern she’s a cigarette. No one was injured, and the restaurant suffered only exterior damage, the NYPD said.
A day after police released the surveillance video and photos, the suspect was arrested.
This is Cando’s third arrest in the past month, according to public records. Cando was arrested on Jan. 30 in connection with a domestic violence case and charged with several misdemeanors, including assault with intent to cause bodily injury. She was re-arrested on February 2 and charged with threats, harassment and criminal possession of weapons.
Defense attorney Eugene Nathanson, who said he is representing Cando in the pride flag case and the Feb. 2 incident, declined to comment. Defense attorney Mathew Mari, who is representing Cando in the Jan. 30 incident, did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for comment.
After the NYPD announced Cando’s arrest, New York City Council Member Erik Bottcher, who represents lower Manhattan and is gay, posted a statement on Instagram thanking authorities and the public for the surveillance footage. increase. He ended his post with a warning.
“Anyone contemplating attacks on the LGBTQ community, or any marginalized group, should know that they will be held accountable,” Bottcher wrote.
The incident at the Manhattan restaurant is one of the violent attacks that have occurred against LGBTQ establishments, figures or symbols in New York City in the past year.
In April, a Brooklyn bar serving LGBTQ New Yorkers was closed after an arson attack left the establishment unrecognizable. A man was arrested in November after allegedly throwing bricks at the window of a Hell’s Kitchen gay bar several times over the course of a few days. And in December, two people were arrested after a group of protesters vandalized Bottcher’s apartment building with graffiti containing homophobic slurs.
Matt Lavietes and Polly DeFrank helped.
