Was Bromwell's vandalism a hate crime?

A case of late night vandalism has sparked debate as to whether the crime was due to a local business's support of LGBT rights.

Early Sunday morning around 1:30 a.m., a man was captured on security cameras tipping over and damaging large flower pots in front of Bromwell's, a 4th Street business specializing in fireplaces.

Bromwell's owner Jeff McClorey said five pots, which he estimated weigh as much as 400 pounds, were damaged. One was completely destroyed.

After the recent Supreme Court decision and this weekend's Pride celebration, some thought the timing of the crime may have indicated the motive.

"Bromwell's proudly displays pro-LGBT signs in their store windows and in chalk on the sidewalk in front of their store. Given the historic marriage decision on Friday, this crime was perhaps motivated by their inclusion efforts," City Councilman Chris Seelbach posted on his Facebook page Monday.

"We openly embrace customers of all persuasions," McClorey said. Over the weekend, a University of Cincinnati Bearcat statue painted in rainbow colors was on display outside Bromwell's and rainbow flags were in the windows.

McClorey said his business had a good weekend, with people from all over the region stopping by because of the parade and other festivities.

However, his discovery of the vandalism meant spending time cleaning up and searching through surveillance tape. He estimates about $1,000 of damage was done.

Some of the over 50 comments on Seelbach's post disputed the idea that the crime was motivated by the business's pro-LGBT stance. Others questioned whether the motivation of the crime matters at all.

"The guy could just as easily of been drunk and felt like breaking something. Why do we always stretch so far to speculate into people's motives?" one commenter wrote.

"Regardless of your belief on hate crimes laws, we have them. If there turns out to be evidence that this crime was committed because the business had pro-LGBT signs in their storefront, his motivation absolutely does matter," Seelbach replied.

Despite the crime costing McClorey time and money, he said there was a silver lining. When reviewing the security tape, he noticed that within hours of the vandalism, strangers stopped and started to clean up the sidewalk.

"That little act of kindness really took the edge," he said.