'Homophobic Rant' Targets Vienna Restaurant Hawk & Griffin's Pride Flags: Report

VIENNA, VA — A homophobic rant at a Vienna restaurant displaying Pride flags led to a police response and charges, according to media reports.

First reported by FFX Now, the incident happened at Hawk & Griffin, a British pub located at 435 Maple Ave West in Vienna. The pub owners shared in a Facebook post that a man came from the street last Friday to "accost patrons" due to the Pride flags displayed for June's Pride Month. The owners said the man spit on the windows and directed "homophobic rants" toward staff inside.

FFX Now reported that Vienna Police responded to threats from an intoxicated person and located the man nearby. The man was charged with drunk in public, providing false identification to a police officer and assault on a police officer. Vienna Police also served a warrant from another locality.

Hawk & Griffin, along with displaying Pride Flags, held a Pride at the Pub drag show earlier in June.

"Our manager and staff handled the situation very professionally and police were called to investigate and later arrested the man a couple of blocks away," Hawk & Griffin shared in the social media post. "We want [to] thank the Vienna Police Department for their quick response. We are and will continue to be community focused and we will never stop working to create and maintain a place of inclusion and tolerance."