'There's nothing about sexual orientation in state law,' Clemens said. The suspect wasn't charged with a hate crime because he didn't have specific intent to intimidate or harass a group of people because of their ethnicity, religion, ancestry or national origin, Clemens said. There's another downtown business that has reported some 'issues' but not in recent months, Clemens said.

The suspect then pulled out a lighter and tried to burn the flag, Clemens said.

Wednesday night at the 200 block of S Phillips Avenue, according to police spokesman Sam Clemens.Ī man walked by a business with a 'gay pride' flag and pulled it down. The incident was witnessed by police around 11:30 p.m. A man is behind bars after Sioux Falls Police Department officers saw him pull a flag down from a business and try to burn it.