Atlanta police arrested four young men and are searching for two more suspects after Pride flags were vandalized near the iconic rainbow crosswalk on Piedmont Avenue early Tuesday morning.
🚨 Why It Matters: This attack on LGBTQ symbols during Pride Month has rattled Atlanta’s vibrant LGBTQ community, especially since police say the suspects specifically traveled from outside the city to target the area around the famous rainbow crosswalk at 10th and Piedmont.
🔍 What Happened: According to Atlanta Police, six males coordinated a trip from the Dallas and Cartersville areas to Atlanta where they cut up Pride flags with knives at 991 Piedmont Ave NE around 1:40 am on June 24.
When officers arrived at the scene near the rainbow crosswalk, the suspects fled on motorized scooters. Police managed to catch four of them while two escaped.
👮 The Arrests: The four people arrested include:
- A 16-year-old from Taylorsville, GA
- Logan Matthison from Dallas, GA
- Geami Mccarroll from Dallas, GA
- Ahmed Mechkouri from Dallas, GA
⚖️ The Charges: All four face charges of obstruction, criminal damage to property, conspiracy, and prowling. Police say additional hate crime charges are pending.
The father of the juvenile suspect, received a citation for failing to supervise his son.
🔎 How You Can Help: Police have released surveillance video and are asking for the public’s help identifying the two remaining suspects. Anyone with information can submit anonymous tips to Crime Stoppers Atlanta at 404-577-TIPS or online at StopCrimeAtl.org. Tips may be eligible for rewards up to $5,000.
⚠️ Reminder: Crime articles contain only charges and information from police reports and law enforcement statements. Suspects and defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Before You Dismiss This Article…
We live in a time when information feels overwhelming, but here’s what hasn’t changed: facts exist whether they comfort us or not.
When A&W launched their third-pound burger to compete with McDonald’s Quarter Pounder in the 1980s, it failed spectacularly. Not because it tasted worse, but because customers thought 1/3 was smaller than 1/4. If basic math can trip us up, imagine how easily we can misread complex news.
The press isn’t against you when it reports something you don’t want to hear. Reporters are thermometers, not the fever itself. They’re telling you what verified sources are saying, not taking sides. Good reporting should challenge you — that’s literally the job.
Next time a story makes you angry, pause. Ask yourself: What evidence backs this up? Am I reacting with my brain or my gut? What would actually change my mind? And most importantly, am I assuming bias just because the story doesn’t match what I hoped to hear.
Smart readers choose verified information over their own comfort zone.
B.T. Clark
B.T. Clark is an award-winning journalist and the Publisher of The Georgia Sun. He has 25 years of experience in journalism and served as Managing Editor of Neighbor Newspapers in metro Atlanta for 15 years and Digital Director at Times-Journal Inc. for 8 years. His work has appeared in several newspapers throughout the state including Neighbor Newspapers, The Cherokee Tribune and The Marietta Daily Journal. He is a Georgia native and a fifth-generation Georgian.
