St. Paul man charged in vandalism spree that targeted LGBT Pride flags and anti-Trump signs

A 23-year-old man was charged Wednesday in a vandalism spree when he allegedly damaged dozens of LGBT Pride flags and signs with anti-Donald Trump messages in St. Paul.

George Thomas Floyd of St. Paul faces two felony charges of damage to property. Charges allege that throughout June, which is LGBTQ Pride month, Floyd damaged “dozens” of yard signs, flags and flag poles in the Highland Park and Macalester-Groveland neighborhoods.

Some were Pride flags, and some had anti-Trump messages including the phrase “No Kings,” some that read “Black Lives Matter” and some opposing the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Ramsey County Attorney John Choi said in a statement that investigators have spent over 500 hours on the case and that his office “will do everything in our power” to seek possible aggravating factors of bias motivation.

“When social or political views of any kind lead to violence or infringes on another’s property rights, it crosses the line and will not be tolerated in Ramsey County,“ Choi said.

The mailbox was full for a phone number listed for Floyd, and a call to a relative was not immediately returned. Floyd was initially charged in July with possession of burglary tools in connection with the vandalism of a sign in St. Paul. His attorney in that case did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Floyd, who is not related to the George Floyd who was murdered by a former Minneapolis police officer, was arrested July 3, a month after he was allegedly seen on Ring security camera footage trying to break open a storm door to gain access to a sign that read, “We will not obey,” according to the Ramsey County charges. The house was 2½ blocks away from where Floyd lives in the 1800 block of Pinehurst Avenue W., charges say.

After his arrest, St. Paul police officers searched Floyd’s home and found a cellphone that allegedly had a “trove of evidence.” The the criminal complaint includes many of the texts and social media posts, and states that Floyd kept pictures of shredded flags.

One of the alleged texts read: “I got two more flags last night” followed by a smiling face emoji. Another says he urinated on a Pride flag after sending a picture of it in a gutter. A different photo showed the lower portion of a Pride flag in a gutter that had been cut off from the flag in someone’s yard.

After the text recipient asked if he was tearing down American flags, Floyd allegedly said he would never tear down one, and that “They were LGBT flags.”

“No, the American flag is a neutral position and I’m not attacking neutral people,” he allegedly wrote.

In another text on June 4, Floyd said, “I didn’t find any pride flags, but I did find an angry racoon!” according to charges.

Some of the texts include Floyd being asked if he’s a “right wing liberal,” to which he responds, “I think I’m closely aligned with a right wing libertarian yes.”

Floyd texted about attending a “No Kings” protest at the Minnesota Capitol on June 14 as a supporter of President Trump, charges say. At one point he texted, “I had a few people insult me when I heckled a man pretending to be a woman and called him a pedophile,” charges say.

The next day he allegedly posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that gay people should not have children.

Later on in June, more texts were sent to the same friend showing damaged Pride flags, and one where he spray-painted a window of a Half Price Books store with the word “groomer.”

On June 23, he told the person he had been texting that he specifically breaks the windows of businesses with Pride flags, rather than houses, in the hopes that it pressures the business to take flags down to avoid higher insurance premiums.