A man has been charged with hate crime-related arson after he was accused of setting fire to a rainbow flag during Pride weekend in Brighton. Moulay Abdelhakim Ismaili, 36, is accused of taking the flag from a garden in Beaconsfield Road, Brighton, and setting it ablaze around 9.55pm on Sunday.
The man was then arrested and detained on suspicion of committing a homophobic hate-related crime and was due to attend Brighton Magistrates’ Court today, Sussex Police said.
A spokesperson said:
“We are committed to fully investigating reports of hate crime.
If you have been a victim of or have witnessed a hate crime, we urge you to either report online, call us on 101, or 999 if it is an emergency.”
This year’s Brighton Pride was scheduled for last weekend and due to feature headliners including Mariah Carey before it was cancelled in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
An alternative stay-at-home event, Fabuloso, was organised instead due to Covid19 restrictions.
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