via NOPD
Suspect in the 4600 block of Freret Street
Twice, a Freret Street business has raised a rainbow flag in honor of Pride Month. And twice, it was mysteriously removed.
The New Orleans Police Department arrested David Klump, 56, on Friday (June 29) on two counts of theft and two counts of a misdemeanor hate crime in connection with the disappearance of the rainbow flag.
The pride flag on Freret Street was stolen on June 9 and again on June 25, police said. It was on a statue outside of a business in the 4600 block of Freret Street.
The flag symbolizes the gay rights movement and celebrates Pride Month, officially Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Intersex Pride Month. The LGBTQI+ community and civil rights movement are honored annually in June, the month in 1969 when the patrons of the Stonewall Inn, a New York City gay bar, stood their ground against a police raid.
Klump has been released on $6,000 bond, set Friday by Magistrate Commissioner Jay Daniels.
Anyone with information as to Klump’s whereabouts or the theft incidents is asked to contact Second District detectives at 504-658-6020 or Crimestoppers anonymously at 504-822-1111.
This report was updated July 1, with information on the suspect’s arrest.
