Via the Memphis Flyer:
Memphis Police arrested 23-year-old Ross Burton early Wednesday morning after he attempted to burn the gay pride flag at the Memphis Gay & Lesbian Community Center.
Plainclothes officers observed Burton and another man — who fled the scene and remains at large — attempting to set fire to the rope that runs up the flag pole in front of the MGLCC. When police officers approached the men, an altercation ensued, and one suspect attempted to disarm an officer. Additional police were dispatched and some reportedly received lacerations and abrasions from the struggle. The suspects fled, but Burton was located and arrested.
Will Batts, head of the Memphis Gay and Lesbian Community Center, said, “Crimes like this are intended to intimidate or create fear and so it’s not just about me or about the flag, it’s about our community at large. These kinds of things happen in small ways all the time.”
This is the second attack on the LGBT population in the Memphis area. In September, a billboard featurin a gay marine was destroyed..
