Police in Santa Cruz, California, have charged James Eason, a 45-year-old man, with allegedly defacing The Neighbor’s, a queer bar, just days after it opened. He now faces charges of vandalism, arson, and a hate crime.

In the early hours of last Tuesday morning, a vandal burned a button panel outside the bar’s front door which helps open the entrance for disabled patrons. The vandal also reportedly tried inserting burning napkins through the cracks of the front door and also carved a homophobic slur into the glass on the front door, bar owner Frankie Farr told Lookout.

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“We’re not sure if you intended to keep it or destroy it, but either way, we’re concerned because you looked really angry and awfully anxious.”

“I was like, ‘You’re kidding, we’re not even open a week,’” Farr said. “[We are] a little in shock that it happened so fast… There are a lot of people who clearly do not want us to exist.”

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They contacted the police, and detectives identified the suspect after looking at surveillance video from nearby businesses. Eason was already in custody at the county jail for an unrelated offense at the time that he became a suspect in the vandalism.

The bar opened in early December after a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by Santa Cruz Mayor Fred Keeley, City Councilmember Sonja Brunner, and over 100 patrons excited to enter.

While the city has LGBTQ+-inclusive businesses, Farr felt there was no dedicated spaces for queer people to meet, socialize, have fun, and enjoy a sense of community, they said. In addition to offering food and a performance venue for regional DJs, queer performers, and drag artists, Farr wants the bar to help fund environmental and social movements and attract LGBTQ+ tourists to the city.

“It’s pretty depressing to think of all these people driving over the hill or all the way up to San Francisco just to find [queer] community when we have it right here,” Farr said.

Months before the bar’s opening, Farr said, “I really want [the bar] to be a way for people who either aren’t out or in an unsafe situation where they can’t disclose to their family members or whoever they’re living with that they’re queer to give a sly little wave, you know, ‘I’m just going to go hang out at The Neighbor’s.’”

The bar resumed its normal business hours immediately after the attack, and Farr is grateful that the attack on the bar wasn’t worse.

“We’re very fortunate that nobody was inside,” Farr said. “However, there are apartments above and those residents don’t deserve this either. They could have been seriously injured.”

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