SEATTLE — This story initially appeared on MyNorthwest.com
A man was charged with a hate crime after King County prosecutors claimed he lit a Pride flag placed outside of a Seattle elementary school on fire, then stuffed it inside a religious statue before rubbing the statue with fecal matter.
The suspect had his arraignment postponed Monday for a mental evaluation to see if he is competent to stand trial.
According to court documents obtained by MyNorthwest, police said neighbors called 911 after they saw the suspect, Vladimir Morgun, throwing large rocks at the flag and trying to climb a flag pole to reach the flag flying outside Queen Anne Elementary School on March 19.
At the time, police said students had already been released from the school, but children in a daycare facility were still on campus. School security guards were also monitoring the events unfold from a security camera.
How the Pride flag was vandalized
Prosecutors said Morgun, 37, eventually sawed the rope used to hoist the flag in half, removed the LBGTQ+ rainbow flag, and re-hoisted an American and Washington State flag. A security guard who responded to the scene told police the suspect then burned the Pride flag and stuffed it inside a small statue of Buddha. He wrote anti-LBGTQ+ slurs on the outside of the statue. Casey McNerthney, spokesperson for the King County Prosecutor’s Office, said the suspect then spread feces on the statue.
However, according to court documents, it wasn’t until hours later that officers found the suspect after they received another 911 call about a man standing on a house porch about a half block from the school. Police said the man shined a flashlight into the home, while the woman inside the home armed herself with a bat, ready to protect her daughter and herself.
Prosecutors said officers recognized the man as he matched the description of the suspect who desecrated the elementary school flag and pole. According to court documents, Seattle Public Schools (SPS) estimated the damage to the flagpole was approximately $2,500.
Police found a lighter, a blue Sharpie marker, and a picture of Jesus among the suspect’s possessions.
When questioned about the flag incident, according to a probable cause statement, a Seattle police detective said, “Morgun said he ‘used to be a homosexual’ and ‘didn’t want kids to see that stuff.’”
That detective confirmed Morgun was arrested in Grays Harbor County last year for assaulting a police officer.
“This seems like somebody who needs help,” McNerthney said. “Either way, we can’t have behavior like this. When you have hateful behavior like this, it’s got to go before the court.”
Morgun has been charged with one count of committing a hate crime and one count of second-degree malicious mischief. A hearing over his mental evaluation is scheduled for April 22. A judge set his bail at $30,000.
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