Vandals damaged Sister Louisa's Church, a relatively new gay bar in Atlanta's Old Fourth Ward over the weekend, Atlanta Magazine reports, in what's being called a hate crime:
Owner Grant Henry says that front windows and doors were broken, liquor bottles smashed, and beer taps were left running but that nothing was stolen, including cash and valuables left in open view. Damages are estimated at $3,000. “This doesn't have anything to do with a break in,” Henry says. “It was definitely targeted.”
At 5:12 am on Saturday, Henry answered a call from his alarm company alerting him to motion on the bar's first floor. By the time he arrived minutes later, police were already on the scene. The front door windows, which depicted crosses, were both smashed. Bricks had been thrown through a window with the word “Church.” Henry stood outside while police investigated.
“The investigative unit came in and did what they do. Then they came out and said that it is clearly a hate crime. Because they didn't steal anything, they took nothing, they left things of value, and they only targeted the word church and they targeted the booze behind the bar, you know, on the altar.”
The bar's name comes from an alter-ego of Henry's, under which he creates kischy artwork.
Contributions poured in to repair the bar after news of the vandalism was posted on Facebook. According to Henry, everything has now been repaired.
