Fani Willis to seek hate crime charges against man who allegedly defecated on Pride flag

Tamar Hallerman, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Oct 11, 2024

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ATLANTA — Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said Friday she would seek enhanced criminal charges under Georgia’s hate crimes law against a Pennsylvania man who allegedly defecated on an LGBTQ+ flag during a Global Black Pride celebration in Atlanta this summer.

A Fulton grand jury charged Ralph George Drabic, 44, with second degree criminal damage to property and criminal trespass, both motivated by bias or prejudice.

Prosecutors allege that overnight on Aug. 27, Drabic entered Midtown’s Starling Hotel and inflicted damage on exhibition booths, furniture, artwork and other equipment totaling between $8,000 and $10,000 from vendors participating in the festival. Drabic also allegedly defaced a Pride flag that had been on display, according to the DA’s office.

“It should have been a prideful celebration, but the defendant’s actions cast a shadow on that event, and that was wrong,” said Willis, surrounded by members of her team and Atlanta police officers. “Crimes of this nature are motivated by hate and bias, and they will not be tolerated either by the Atlanta Police Department or by the Fulton County District Attorney’s office.”

Willis made the announcement during a press conference in the heart of Atlanta’s gay community in Midtown, standing on one of the newly repainted rainbow crosswalks at the intersection of 10th St. and Piedmont Ave. The crosswalks were recently expanded to include white, pink and blue stripes to represent the transgender flag and black and brown stripes for communities of color.

The announcement came just ahead of the 54th Atlanta Pride Festival, which takes place on Saturday and Sunday in Midtown. Roughly 300,000 people are slated to attend the parade and weekend festivities.

Willis was accompanied by Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum, who detailed preparations his force was taking in anticipation of the event, including dispatching extra deputies, both uniformed and plainclothes, in heavily-visited areas.

Schierbaum, who is openly gay, said the crimes allegedly committed by Drabic “strike close to the heart of the community.”

“There was more than one victim that day,” he said. “There was an entire community that was victimized that day.”

Drabic has yet to turn himself in, Willis said.

Public records show a white male matching Drabic’s description in a north suburb of Philadelphia. Drabic did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

This is not Willis’ first time using Georgia’s relatively new hate crimes law. Three years ago, Willis announced she was seeking hate crime charges against the man who murdered four Asian women at two Atlanta spas.

Georgia’s law offers sentencing guidelines for anyone convicted of targeting a victim based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender, mental disability or physical disability.

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(Staff writer Shaddi Abusaid contributed to this article.)

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