Caught on camera: Youths seen stealing Pride sign from London, Ont. home

Pride symbols are being vandalized at an alarming rate, but event organizers and supporters will not be intimidated.

Tara Goldin has proudly displayed messages and images of support for Pride festivities outside of her home in the White Oaks neighbourhood in London, Ont.

On Saturday night, Goldin was out for dinner. While she was gone, a group of young males were caught on home security footage taking a Pride sign and a painted rock from her front yard.

"When I came home, one of my neighbors approached me saying that some young men had come by and taken my sign away, had thrown it on the street," said Goldin.

The neighbour had brought the items back from the street and placed them on Goldin's front porch, but not long after, the same group of boys returned.

"The same group of young men came by again, and this time they took the flag and ran away with it off [my] property. But then they also opened my front door and banged on it in a very intimidating way," she said.

Goldin has contacted London police, but has not received a call or visit in relation to the incident.

Meanwhile, OPP has posted about several incidents around the area of flags being torn down in Norwich, and another flag torn down and burned in Milverton. Those incidents are being investigated.

Brianna Phelan, the organizer of the Oakridge Pride event this weekend, has dealt with this before.

"One of the flags was burning on our front step. My kids were really upset about that because it felt like somebody had come into their space and actually invaded the space," said Phelan.

In planning for the third annual Pride event in Oakridge, Phelan and volunteers began posting flyers around the neighbourhood to advertise the new park location for the event.

"Sunday, we were told that a bunch of [flyers] had been taken down. So we went out for a drive to look around and probably about 90 per cent of the posters had been taken down from the community mailboxes," said Phelan.

Neither Phelan nor Goldin said they will be intimidated.

Goldin's response to the vandalism at her home was to install a flagpole at the top of her home, with the promise to keep the flag flying year round in spite of those who are offended by it.