Police are investigating a case of Christmas vandalism against a gay couple in Eureka, California as a hate crime. Brian Kleinmeyer and Daniel Kain came home to find their yard decorations smeared with feces and placed at the base of their Pride flag.

Wrote Kleinmeyer on Facebook: “Last night, somebody came to our home on Myrtle, and wiped feces all over our Gingerbread Men. They literally ripped them out of the ground, and wiped their asses with them, and carefully laid them at the base of our Pride Flag… I thought things might get stolen, but never in a million years did I think this would happen. I'm completely in shock Update: We've received a call from Chief Watson, whom has informed us that he fully intends to charge whoever did this with a Hate Crime.”

The Lost Coast Outpost reports: “Speaking with the Outpost Thursday afternoon, Eureka Police Chief Steve Watson said an officer was dispatched to the scene for investigative purposes after Kleinmeyer reported the incident, and once the evidence was gathered, the suspect's (or suspects') intentions were unmistakable. ‘It's very clear in my mind this was a deliberate act based on the suspect's perception of [the victims'] sexual orientation,' he said. Describing the crime as an “absolutely horrendous and appalling thing,” Watson said the investigating officer will follow up with a criminal report for a hate crime under California Penal Code 442.6(b).”

Kleinmeyer told the paper that another incidence of vandalism happened less than two weeks ago: “The first time they broke a Santa sleigh in half and tangled up a bunch of my Christmas light. Something about two Gingerbread Men holding hands just pushed them over the edge, I guess.”