A former Naval Academy graduate has been charged in connection with an incident that occurred at the Dapper Dog Tattoo Shop in Annapolis, Maryland, where a pride flag was torn from outside the business. Security camera footage showed a guy, subsequently identified as 44-year-old Benjamin Michael, pulling down the rainbow-colored pride flag and throwing it in a neighboring garbage can, according to WBAL-TV.
An employee of a nearby restaurant who had served the man recognized him after Charlie Garrett, a co-owner of the tattoo parlor, first reported the damage to the police and started a social media campaign to help identify the perpetrator. His credit card receipt helped her link him to the crime, and the trail of video showing a previous visit to a local restaurant when he talked about going to the 2004 Naval Academy reunion helped with his subsequent identification. The man was disturbed not only by the digital trail he left behind, but also by minor reminders of his history scattered throughout Annapolis’s fabric.
A Marine Corps spokeswoman told USA TODAY that Michael, who was in the Marine Corps from 2004 to 2013, is charged with a hate crime and malicious destruction of property. Annapolis police issued a summons for Michael’s arrest after reporting that the flag holder had been damaged to the tune of an estimated $70.
“My client did not intend to destroy or deface that flag, and my client does not have any hatred towards any protected class or sexual orientation or any race,” lawyer Caroline Norman Frost said in a statement provided by USA TODAY in support of her client. According to Chris Ingles, co-owner of Dapper Dog Tattoo, the flag symbolizes the company’s values of friendliness and inclusivity, highlighting that everyone is welcome.
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