FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — According to the owners of Sleet City Art and Supplies, a pride flag was stolen from the front of their business for the second year in a row, and they say they aren't the only ones.
"We had a banner out there which was stolen, and our neighbor across the street at the salon also had their pride flag stolen in the night. [It's] Just a really unfortunate set of events with the Pride Parade coming up on Saturday," said owner Jon Tegeler.
Tegeler says he knows that "The gay and trans community has endured a lot of persecution throughout the state ... you know our flag was stolen last year as well, this time of the year. So it's something that doesn't surprise us, unfortunately."
Sleet City Art helped host The Big Gay Market just the weekend prior, an event that brought together over 40 nonprofits to help put money directly into the pockets of local LGBTQ+ creators, "while also fostering a space for advancement, connection, and joy in our queer community."
"The community rallies around cases like this when someone is being malicious by taking flags or whatever the case may be, we always come back in kind ... Now we've got two flags out there, and two or three across the street. We're not going to be threatened by the attitude that seems to be going around these days," stated Tegeler.
Sleet City Art and Supplies offers both introductory and professional art supplies, as well as gift items. They also host various community events, with the goal of providing a safe and inclusive environment to those who may need it.
Tegeler also says that they were able to get a new flag up the day after it was stolen, stating that "we'll just keep putting a new one up every time they take it down."
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