Naval Academy Graduate Charged with Hate Crime After Pride Flag Ripped from Annapolis Shop

By Luke Parker | Catonsville Times

A Naval Academy graduate was charged with a hate crime Saturday after a tattoo shop in Annapolis reported its LGBTQ Pride flag had been ripped off its post and thrown in the trash, according to the city’s police department.

A summons has been issued for Benjamin Michael to appear in court, court records show, but as of Monday morning, it has not been served.

In charging documents, police wrote that Michael, 44, is a Dallas resident who served in the U.S. Marine Corps and graduated from the academy.

Attempts to contact Michael on a phone number listed in public records were unsuccessful.

According to charging documents, an Annapolis Police corporal was contacted Friday morning by Charlie Garrett, co-owner of the Dapper Dog Tattoo Shop, who said a rainbow Pride flag outside the store had been vandalized.

Garrett told authorities this was the third time someone had removed the flag, which has the words “ABIDE NO HATRED” on it, from its post. In response, Garrett said he installed a security camera to monitor the area.

Closed-circuit video footage showed a man in a black puffer-style vest walking toward the store at approximately 1 a.m. Friday, police said, before he “forcefully ripped” the flag from above the shop’s awning. According to charging documents, the man was then seen “placing” it into a red trash can nearby.

The tattoo shop posted a photo of the man from its security camera on social media and asked the “Dapper Dog Family” for help identifying the suspect. In return, the store offered anyone with information a free tattoo from an artist of their choosing.

According to charging documents, a woman who worked at a nearby restaurant contacted authorities Saturday morning and told the corporal she had served the man in the video the night before.

She told police Michael was in the area for “an event related to the Naval Academy football game” against the Tulane Green Wave.

Navy lost 35-0.

After providing police with Michael’s name and credit card receipt, the woman said she had “immediately” recognized him from the Dapper Dan post, police said.

A spokesperson for the Naval Academy said Michael was a member of the Class of 2004. According to a Marine Corps spokesperson, Michael served from 2004 to 2013, ending his career as a captain at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.