Members of the neo-fascist Proud Boys tore down Pride flags and glued “straight pride” pamphlets to walls and windows on the Santa Rosa campus June 12, officials said.
Late Sunday evening, security cameras caught two men gluing the pamphlets in the Bertolini quad, with a majority spotted along the library windows, campus police said.
SRJC District Police, along with facility operations staff, responded to the vandalism scene Monday at 7 a.m. and were able to remove the pamphlets before classes began on the first day of summer semester.
Facility operations had to scrape the estimated 20 glued pamphlets off windows and plexiglass. The plexiglass they were glued to must be replaced due to scratches.
The posters affixed to the building led to a QR code promoting straight pride. The posters were targeted towards LGBTQIA+ community with a focus on Pride month, officials said.
“In my memory, we have not seen something like this that specifically targeted our LGBTQ community,” said District Police Chief Robert Brownlee.
Another vandalism target was the Queer Resource Center (QRC), where the suspects ripped a Pride and trans Pride flag from their flagpole.
“This is a direct attack during Pride month,” said Dr. Roam Romagnoli, QRC faculty coordinator. “We have to put the work in to change the conditions of safety on our campus for queer students.”
In an email sent out to SRJC staff, Romagnoli said, “The flyers posted by this group directly attacked Pride month, and they targeted SRJC’s Queer Resource Center.”
A local coffee shop, Brew, known for being a popular LGBTQIA+ safe space, was also vandalized with the same posters.
Police have not yet positively identified the suspects, Brownlee said. District Police ask the SRJC community to contact them with any information on the vandalism by calling the emergency line at (707) 527-1000.
