Seattle business blasts ‘yogurt-eating thief’ on billboard

SEATTLE – After a man was caught on surveillance video tearing down a Pride sign, one Seattle business decided to take matters into their own hands in a bold way.

Black Rock Spirits, located in Capitol Hill, publicly shamed the culprit by displaying his face on a handmade billboard outside their Madison Street office.

“We’re just trying to have fun with it,” said Sven Liden, founder of Black Rock Spirits. “It was kind of for our own sense of petty justice to put that thing up there.”

The vandalism took place in August, outside the Black Rock Spirits office, around 5:30 a.m. Surveillance footage captured the perpetrator, described as a “weird yogurt-eating thief,” ripping down a Pride sign and tossing it into his truck. According to Liden, the man made two trips, stopping to eat yogurt as he vandalized the property.

“It’s a little bit brazen,” Liden remarked about the incident. “We noticed a guy standing around eating yogurt, and then he came back, ripped the sign off, and drove away.”

While he didn’t report the vandalism to the police, he wanted to call the man out and show support for the LGBTQ community. The billboard is now framed by an even larger rainbow banner.

“You can have cameras up, but you’re not really going to report this to the police,” Liden said. “There’s not too much you can do about it, so we thought, let’s just have a little petty revenge and put his photo up on our sign.”

Jim Fuda with Crime Stoppers Puget Sound wants to encourage this business and any other establishments dealing with similar vandalism to report it to authorities.

“This would be considered a hate crime. You damage property, you look at the RCW for hate crimes, and it fits,” Fuda remarked. “I would continue to document, to call the police and build a case that way.”

Liden says that if the yogurt-eating vandal returns their flag, they will take the billboard down.

MORE NEWS FROM FOX SEATTLE

Is Hurricane Milton worse than Katrina in New Orleans? Here’s what we know

Bellevue burglary spree sparks fear after chilling bedroom footage

Boeing withdraws contract offer after talks with striking workers break down

Hurricane Milton: Flooded apartments in Clearwater, FL

Here’s how much it will cost to go skiing, snowboarding in WA this year

Historic Pier 70 on Seattle’s waterfront for sale: What’s the price?

To get the best local news, weather and sports in Seattle for free, sign up for the daily FOX Seattle newsletter.