Just before closing time on Sunday, a cinder block smashed through gay club Plan B’s front window.
Nobody in the club was injured, but the incident still came as a shock to Plan B owner Corey Gresen.
“I was a little disheartened at first,” Gresen said. “I thought we were past all this.”
The incident occurred around 2 a.m., but Gresen says that there was no way someone was trying to rob the club because there were people there.
After filing a police report, the club’s employees set to work boarding up the shattered window. The club posted pictures of the board to their Facebook page which had been painted with rainbows and the words “Love Trumps Hate”.
“I wanted to send a message like 'Yeah, you did this but we're going to turn it into a positive,’” Gresen said. “And it’s Pride Month anyway so I get to show more love than hate.”
The incident at Plan B comes a little over a month after a similar incident occurred at the office of a Madison LGBT magazine. Gresen said vandalism against the LGBT community can occur where people would least expect it to.
Madison Police said they are working on identifying the perpetrator, who was seen by at least one clubgoer. The police say there is not enough evidence at this time to label the incident as a hate crime.
Despite the broken window, Gresen says the club plans to be open for business as usual on Wednesday.
“I’m just happy it’s not -30 [degrees] outside,” he said.
