Elmhurst Man Upset Over Pride Flag At Library Charged

ELMHURST, IL – An Elmhurst man who made a scene objecting to a Pride flag at Elmhurst Public Library was later charged, police said.

Patch obtained the police report through a public records request.

In the late afternoon of Oct. 10, the 50-year-old man, who lives in the 200 block of East Fremont Avenue, sat down at one of the tables at Brewpoint Coffee inside the library, police said.

He did not buy anything, but gave an employee a dirty look. A few minutes later, he approached the Brewpoint register with a Pride flag and yelled at the employee, police said.

He demanded that the woman take down the flag because it offended him, according to police.

He asked the woman whether she believed in God, to which she responded she did not, prompting the man to say she needed to find Jesus, police said.

The 50-year-old was yelling so loud that the head librarian heard him and told him to calm down and stop causing a scene and disturbing the peace, police said. The man left.

As they called a manager, the man returned to the building and yelled and swore, the report said. He got into the woman's face and put his hands near her, but did not touch her, police said.

He eventually left, but he called the Brewpoint location at 124 W. Park Ave. He yelled at the employee there and demanded that the local chain take down the Pride flags at both places, police said.

The man spoke about Jesus and told them they would get what was coming to them, police said.

The head librarian asked the police to issue the man a no-trespass notice, so he could not return.

An officer visited the man's house, but he was not there.

The man then called the officer and acknowledged that he got mad about the Pride flag, but he said he did not threaten anyone, police said.

The man said he did not regret his decision and said he would "stand my ground" on his political views, according to the report.

He was cited on a charge of disorderly conduct under the city's ordinance.

The man frequently writes on Facebook about his devotion to Jesus.