A candidate running for a seat in Washington’s House of Representatives is facing possible malicious mischief and harassment charges after he stole a rainbow flag from a ‘church’ and allegedly warned the congregants that he’d come back and do it again if they ever put it back up.
Police were called to Seabold United Methodist Church after Daniel Charles Svoboda, 41, removed the ‘Pride’ Flag from outside the church, allegedly telling two congregants “if it gets put back up, I will take it down.” Two witnesses recorded Svoboda’s license plate and he was later apprehended.
In a letter to The Leader, Svoboda, who has a history of anti-LGBT activism and behavior which has resulted in termination from several jobs, admits to removing the flag, saying:
“The reason I took the flag down is because it sends the wrong message to the very world that the church is supposed to be saving. The mission of the church/body of Christ is to be a beacon of light unto a lost, dark and hurting world and to be a place of salvation from one’s own sins. The church has lost her way and fails to communicate this message when it flies a sodomite flag.”
While some are pushing for him to be charged with a hate crime, police say that that he’ll likely only face misdemeanor charges.
According to the voters guide for his run for the 24th District, he is not running as a ‘Republican’ but as a ‘Trump Republican Party’ candidate. He describes his platform as:
No more special rights for women, people of color, homosexuals and those that wish to misrepresent their gender, tribes, and illegal aliens and anyone else that believes they deserve special rights. I am pro-life and do not believe in a women’s right to vote or kill their child.
The long-shot candidate is not expected to do particularly well.
