Men allegedly confront women over rainbow flag in Fremont

FREMONT, Calif. (KTVU) - A Fremont business owner said two men accosted her and shouted obscenities over a gay pride rainbow flag that she had flying outside her shop. 

Rae Steckler Homorody, owns Iron Dog Antiques on a quaint stretch of Niles Boulevard in Fremont. She and others spoke at the city's Human Relations Commission meeting Monday night. Some people said they believe the same men targeted another shop just a few weeks earlier.

Homorody took photos of the men during the incident and has shared them with Fremont Police investigators.

She says about 3 p.m. last Thursday, a man in a blue shirt walked inside and conftonted her.

"He said why are you hanging that flag? I said the rainbow flag out front? And he said yes. And I said, because I'm an ally," explained Steckler Homorody.

She said he became belligerent and refused to leave.

"He was just throwing out the f--you, F-you. Go F-yourself, you don't have any f-ing respect for this country. You're not patriotic," said Homorody

Homorody's late grandfather was a Marine and her father was a former Fremont police chief. She said she was shocked the man accused her of being unpatriotic.

She says the man eventually walked down the street, but came back a short time later with another man. She called her husband and started taking photos of the men with her cell phone camera, but one of the men hit her hand.

"Just smacked my phone out of my hand. Smacked my hand out of the way," said Homorody, gesturing.

Fremont police are investigating the incident along with another that happened at Belle Spring's shop Color Me Quilts, one block away.

Spring says the same two men stormed into the shop just a few weeks earlier and shouted about a black lives matter sign posted in the window...

"When she showed me, my grandson and I, the pictures we said, that's them. And I couldn't believe that they came back," said Spring, "I was teaching a class and these two men come stomping down the whole shop to where we were sitting at the table."

Spring says two rainbow flags have been stolen from outsider the quilt shop in the past few months.

Homorody said she has found Bibles outside her doorstep in the past when she's flown the rainbow flag, but has never been verbally assaulted.

During the public comments portion of the meeting Monday, Homorody and others called for action by the city. They said they will not be intimidated.

"I will be flying this flag." Homorody said, looking at the rainbow colors above her door.

The topic is expected to be brought up in public comments Tuesday night at the Fremont City Council meeting.