DRAPER, Utah — A Draper couple has gotten used to seeing their Pride flag stolen from their home, but over the weekend, trespassers took it a step further.
The flag pole that once stood proudly 25 feet up in the air now lies crumpled on the ground of Bryce Abplanalp’s backyard.
“It’s more than being sad. It’s violating and kind of makes us scared,” he said.
Abplanalp said that in the last 18 months, his family’s Pride flag has been stolen or destroyed five times.
“It’s about that time when you think you’re safe and think it’s been stolen for the last time that you wake up and look out your window and it’s gone,” he said.
On Saturday night, intruders hopped the fence and took the flag like they usually do. This time, they contorted the pole, shattered the motion lights, and stole a recording security camera hidden in a bush.
“We thought by installing some motion lights it would maybe scare people away if they jump the fence, but they just ripped those down,” said Abplanalp.
The fathers shared their experience to their popular Instagram page, @growingupwithdads, writing that before bedtime, their 4-year-old asked to make sure the back gate was locked “so no one steals our rainbow flag again or does anything to us.”
“We’re even thinking about: do we even want to try and put a flag back up? Because are we just inviting people to come in and invade our space and put our kids at risk?” he said.
But Abplanalp remembers the reason why they flew the flag so many times in the first place: so the rainbow colors could be seen from the nearby park.
“Maybe there’s a kid who’s gay who doesn’t feel accepted, who doesn’t feel loved, and they can see the flag and think, ‘Somebody out there sees me,’” he said.
The couple filed a police report, and Draper Police told FOX 13 News that they’re looking into it.
Officers said hate crimes in Draper are “very not common.”
