New York City manhunt under way for man who used pride flag to wipe his rear end

A manhunt is presently under way for a man accused of defecating on LGBT activist flags in New York City.

The NYPD indicated that the suspect, an unidentified male, entered a location at West 95th Street and Amsterdam Avenue around 10 a.m. on April 15 and added an additional color to a pride flag.

According to the New York Post, the alleged hate crime took place at Buceo 95's dining shed, a restaurant with a predominantly "LGBTQ+-identifying staff." In addition to its rainbow decor, the restaurant frequently features pictures of President Joe Biden in its windows.

After relieving himself, the suspect grabbed another pride flag and wiped himself clean. Whatever cleanliness the rainbow banner afforded him was short-lived, however; he reportedly proceeded to draw a smiley face in the excrement, then fled north on Amsterdam Avenue.

Nathan Nolen Edwards, the gay general manager of Buceo 95, told the Post that the dirty business was "definitely a punch to the gut. ... A defecation on a pride flag is not the norm here."

The owner of the establishment, 63-year-old Courtney Barroll, vowed that "for the two flags that he has taken from us, I will put 50 more up, and I'll wallpaper the whole restaurant with them."

NBC News reported that the incident, typed as aggravated harassment, is being investigated by the police department's Hate Crime Task Force.

The NYPD's hate crimes dashboard indicates that so far this year in the city of nearly 9 million people, there have been 11 hate crimes against male homosexuals; two against lesbians; three against transsexuals; and one against "gender non conforming" persons.

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