Man rips down Pride Flag outside Evolution Candy – Screenshot: WPVI-TV/6abc
A man who tore down a Pride flag hanging outside a candy shop in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, was reported to police by two 10-year-olds who witnessed the vandalism.
Surveillance video shows the suspect approaching Evolution Candy on East State Street — either with a limp or dragging one leg — before interacting with the Pride flag. He appears to say something unintelligible during the incident, according to footage aired by WPVI-TV.
James Lamb, the owner of Evolution Candy, said the incident occurred shortly after he stepped away from the store on December 6.
“I don’t know if he waited for me to leave — I don’t think so,” Lamb told WPVI. “If you’ve seen the video, I can’t tell if he has a limp or was drunk.”
Lamb said that two 10-year-olds who were nearby witnessed the act and told the man they were going to call police.
According to audio from the surveillance footage, the suspect — who had walked out of view of the camera when confronted by the youths — allegedly responded, “Call the cops. It’s 1-800-WHOCARES. No gay people!”
After the children alerted authorities, the Central Bucks Regional Police Department identified the suspect as 60-year-old James Mellon of Lansdale, in nearby Montgomery County.
This is the fourth time the store has been targeted in the past two years over the presence of the Pride flag.
Other Pride flags in the area have also been ripped down or stolen, including one taken from a flagpole near a Civil War memorial.
“To me, the Pride flag is welcoming everyone,” Tracy Lamb, the store’s co-owner, told TAPinto Doylestown. “Apparently some people don’t feel welcomed by it. They feel threatened by it.”
Lamb is undeterred by the vandalism. As with the previous incidents, a new Pride flag has been purchased and will replace the one torn down.
“Any time something like this happens, we automatically put another flag right back up,” he told the Bucks County Courier Times. “It’s just a symbol that everyone’s welcome here, and it’s an inclusive town. So, we’re always going to put another one back up.”
The Capital Pride Alliance is moving the 2026 Capital Pride celebration to the third week of June -- one week later than usual -- to avoid overlapping with major events tied to President Donald Trump's June 14 birthday and preparations for the nation's 250th anniversary. Pride weekend will run June 20-21, with the parade on Saturday and the festival and concert on Sunday.
Last year, the Trump administration marked the president's birthday and the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Armed Forces with a downtown military parade. This year, all national parks will offer free entry on June 14, and the White House is expected to host several Ultimate Fighting Championship matches on the White House lawn to draw large crowds for Trump's 80th birthday and the country's Semiquincentennial celebrations.
Federal Judge Victoria Calvert has permanently blocked a portion of Georgia’s law banning prisoners from receiving gender-affirming care, ruling on Dec. 3 that the state’s blanket ban on hormone therapy violates the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment.
Signed by Gov. Brian Kemp in May and implemented in July, the law bars prisoners from receiving hormone therapy or other treatment for gender dysphoria -- even when a doctor deems it medically necessary. It prohibits the state from funding such care and blocks transgender inmates from paying for it themselves. Non-transgender prisoners, however, may still receive hormone therapy and other gender-affirming treatments so long as the care is not related to gender transition.
Lucien Bates, a transgender man, says security guards threatened to arrest him after he used the women’s restroom at a Round1 arcade inside the North Riverside Park Mall in suburban Chicago. Bates, an Indiana resident, was visiting the venue on September 28 with his fiancé and a friend to play Dance Dance Revolution.
Bates, who presents as alt-masculine with facial hair and piercings, had just arrived at the arcade when he needed to use the restroom. He chose the women’s restroom, a decision he often makes in public because he feels safer there and is less likely to be harassed.
These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!
You must be logged in to post a comment.