An irate customer at a Florida Starbucks was arrested after throwing a tantrum over a Pride flag hanging on the wall.
Police say Tucker Alden Kemp, 31, of Clearwater, entered a Starbucks in St. Petersburg around 9:16 a.m. on October 22. Once inside, he took offense at a Pride flag and asked to speak with the manager, insisting it was offensive and should be replaced with an American flag.
When the manager refused, citing store policy, Kemp allegedly “decided to take matters into his own hands,” according to an arrest affidavit obtained by The Smoking Gun.
According to police, Kemp doused the flag in tea and then “ripped the flag from the wall” before discarding it in a trash can, reports Tampa Bay FOX affiliate WTVT.
Police say Kemp poured tea on the flag, ripped it from the wall, and tossed it in a trash can, reports Tampa Bay FOX affiliate WTVT.
Kemp faces a misdemeanor criminal mischief charge for causing an estimated $210 in damage to the wall and flag.
Kemp was booked into the Pinellas County Jail on the misdemeanor charge and released six hours later after posting $500 bond, reports The Smoking Gun. The outlet also noted he lives in Clearwater with his wife and daughter, is a registered Republican, and works as a sales manager for Dignity Memorial, a Tampa Bay-area funeral home chain.
The U.S. Department of Education has unveiled a final rule that rescinds protections for LGBTQ college students against sexual assault and discrimination that were made possible due to an expanded interpretation of Title IX, the federal law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex in educational settings.
The rule, published on September 29, stops short of explicitly defining "sex," as it appears in the text of Title IX, as biological sex, as reported by Politico. However, the Trump administration claimed, in a fact sheet, that the rule does not reflect any new policy decisions.
Turkish prosecutors are seeking to charge queer pop star Mabel Matiz with obscenity over a scene showing two men -- clothed and not touching -- dancing together in the music video for his song "Ha Leylim."
If convicted, Matiz, an LGBTQ rights advocate, could face six months to three years in prison and a fine, reports Turkish Minute.
The music video depicts a wedding, with Matiz and the groom looking at each other throughout. At the end, as other guests lie exhausted on the ground, the two continue dancing with rapid arm movements and gyrating their hips. But the men never touch.
A Texas school district canceled a high school production of Little Shop of Horrors after officials objected to a female student playing the musical's male lead, citing the state's controversial anti-drag law.
Ana Mota, a senior at South Grand Prairie High School, was cast as Seymour, a nerdy flower shop worker who discovers a strange, bloodthirsty plant.
Mota has performed in several local productions, playing Jack in Into the Woods and the title character in Pinocchio. Having played male characters before, she thought nothing of auditioning for Little Shop of Horrors, noting that cross-gender casting is common in theater.
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