Arsonist Charged With Anti-Gay Hate Crimes For West Village Fire: DA – msnNOW
© Photo Credit: Google Maps An image of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center, where Alex Blodgett set a fire outside of in 2021, according to the DA’s office.
GREENWICH VILLAGE, NY — A man who set multiple fires in Lower Manhattan, including outside of an LGBTQ+ Community Center in the West Village, was indicted Tuesday on enhanced hate crime charges by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office.
An ongoing investigation by authorities found that Alex Blodgett showed an anti-gay bias when he set more than a dozen fires in one night in August 2021 in various Lower Manhattan neighborhoods.
“Hate has no place here in Manhattan and New Yorkers of all backgrounds deserve to feel safe. As alleged, this individual left a wake of physical destruction but also made an entire community unsafe because he targeted LGBTQIA+ establishments,” District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a news release.
Around 1:06 a.m. on Aug. 16, 2021, Blodgett tied a rag to the door of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center at 208 West 13th St. and set it on fire, according to court documents and statements made on the record.
Blodgett also set fire to a large potted plant and a trash can in front of the center, according to the DA’s office.
He then made his way to the Atlas Social Club, a gay bar in Hell’s Kitchen, and threw multiple rocks at the window of the bar, the DA’s office said.
Blodgett would go on to set 14 fires that night, the New York Post reported — including one that burned down the outdoor dining shed at the restaurant LouLou in Chelsea.
He was caught and arrested shortly after setting the fire at LouLou, authorities said.
Blodgett was originally arraigned in 2021, but a search warrant of his Facebook account was executed after his arraignment and found an “anti-gay animus, particularly towards gay men and establishments geared for the LGBTQIA+ community,” according to the Manhattan DA’s office.
As a result of this finding, Blodgett was charged with enhanced hate crimes.
Overall, Blodgett was also charged with multiple counts of arson and criminal mischief.
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