Earlier this week, seven people in the town of Salem, Massachusetts planted fireworks in the newspaper box that holds copies of the local LGBT publication, the Rainbow Times.
This is the 11th time the newspaper has faced some kind of vandalism, including one attack during Pride month. This attack happened on a normally busy shopping street, around 1AM. The police chief referred to it as a hate crime, but it’s unclear whether it’s being formally prosecuted as such.
Nicole Lashomb, the editor in chief of the Times, said she was shocked by the surveillance footage of the incident.
“When I first saw it, I gasped and cupped my hand over my mouth,” Lashomb told the Boston Herald. “It was that shocking to me. After the explosion went off the box is sitting there in flames until the officers arrive.”
She believes that the vandals were sending a clear message.
“The message is they don’t want us there,” Lashomb said, adding: “I think you have to be concerned about violence. I think with the presidential race and the political climate … it could lead to more violence.”
Times publisher Gricel Ocasio added that the paper will not back down in the face of hatred.
“This is a form of censorship,” Ocasio said. “I guess, perhaps, they thought they can silence us and we would be gone. We will not be silenced. We have two new boxes coming into the city. We are not deterred.”
There are a lot of ways to express violence toward a community, and this is one of them. Hoping they can move forward with resilience and strength.