“When we look out, we could see both flags completely blazing,” Minko told WLNY.
A woman knocked on the window to alert the bar of the blaze, which was then extinguished by owner Alexi Minko and several customers. The fire was first spotted just after midnight June 1. The New York Police Department's Hate Crimes Task Force had been investigating the incident, which occurred on the eve of Pride Month celebrating the LGBTQ community. In the surveillance footage - obtained by WLNY, a CBS affiliate in New York - a suspect can be seen using a lighter to set both banners ablaze outside Alibi Lounge in Harlem. A video has been released that shows a man lighting two rainbow flags on fire outside of a New York City gay bar.
