Global Courant
Several businesses in Santa Rosa were vandalized this week with anti-LGBTQ+ posters linking to a rap song celebrating “straight pride,” authorities said.
The posters were discovered in several locations around the city, including Brew Coffee and Beer House, which is queer-owned, as well as Shady Oak Barrel House, according to their social media accounts. In some cases, the posters were placed over the Pride flag decals.
“Some Haters tried to cover all our windows with anti-LGBTQ+ posters in Santa Rosa. This is a hate crime,” Brew Coffee and Beer House wrote on its Facebook page. “We are a queer company and proudly represent inclusivity and safety. We face this kind of hate all year round and that’s why it’s important that Pride month takes place and why we should stand together every day to protect each other.”
The companies said the vandalism occurred on Sunday night. Shady Oak Barrel House posted a video to Instagram of an employee removing one of the posters.
When scanned, the QR code on the signs linked to a YouTube video of rapper GNotesJustice, whose lyrics celebrate “straight Pride” and who repeatedly says, “I love being straight.”
The posters also linked to a Redwood Holler website, which said it is working to make California “one helping hand at a time again,” according to the Santa Rosa Press Democrat.
The website had an email address and a YouTube channel linked to a Bay Area group of the Proud Boys, a far-right extremist group called the Press Democret reported.
“Targeted businesses were primarily in or near downtown, owned by LGBTQ+ or supporters of the LGBTQ+ community,” the Santa Rosa Police Department said in a statement. “Unknown people defaced private businesses with stickers, promoted hateful rhetoric, and used the stickers to cover up support for LGBTQ+, trans rights, and BLM.”
Police are investigating the incident and are asking local residents to send tips if they know anything about the vandalism.
