LOGAN, Utah — A flag that has been flown for the past few weeks outside of a Logan business was stolen just before 1 a.m. Tuesday.
Jamie Butters, owner of Cache Coffee, has been in business since October 2019, which is when he first started flying the American flag with another flag alongside it.
“We actually rotate them,” said Butters about his flags. “We do all the branches of the military, we also do all the firefighter flags.”
On a neighboring business's security cameras, Butters saw a person come from around the side of the building and snatch the flag out of its holder around 12:54 a.m. The incident was reported to police. Butters says that some of his customers are veterans and members of law enforcement. It’s also something that is close to both he and his wife, which is why the coffee shop is decorated with flags, military photographs, patches and memorabilia.
“We’re not trying to disrespect anybody, we’re not trying to point fingers on one side or the other side, we’re just trying to live our lives and support what we feel is right,” said Butters about his displaying of the ‘Thin Blue Line’ flag.
The flag’s meaning varies depending on where you look and who you ask. The Oxford Dictionary refers to the ‘thin blue line’ in reference on police, “in the context of maintaining order during unrest” according to a USA Today publication.
Black Lives Matter Utah Founder Lex Scott shared the organizations interpretation of the flag with FOX 13 on Tuesday: “The Blue lives matter flag is a flag of hatred and denial. It should not be stolen it should be ignored. There is no war on police less than 200 police are killed in the line of duty each year. They count heart attacks and cancer in that count, meanwhile police kill an average of 1000 people per year. The flag also goes against United States flag code they are desecrating the US Flag.”
Butters says that he doesn’t intend to offend anyone by flying the flag but just wants to show his support and appreciation for law enforcement.
“They have to be there, and you have to support the good ones,” Butters said about law enforcement. “There’s always bad ones, there’s bad apples everywhere but you’ve got to support the good ones.”
He wishes the person who stole the flag would have done what others have done in the past. Butters says that people would come into the store to voice their concerns with the flag or ask questions about it.
Since opening last year, Butters says they’ve shown support for organizations by donating product and meals on numerous occasions, including meals on Thanksgiving to local families.
“There’s too much hate, we just have to care and love each other,” he said.
Since posting on social media, Butters says his business has received mixed reaction from people across the country. A customer came into the business on Tuesday for a coffee and ended up coming back an hour later with a new 'thin blue line' flag. Others haven't been so kind by contacting the business with threats, according to Butters. The business told FOX 13 they have installed security cameras after the incident.
