Suspect rips down Pride flag from Upper Moreland home: police

Homeowner speaks out after suspects rip down his Pride flag

Michael Ceneviva, a Upper Moreland Township homeowner speaks out after a pride flag that proudly hangs outside of his home was ripped down multiple times.

UPPER MORELAND TWP., Pa. - A person is being sought by police for ripping down a Pride flag that was displayed on a person's property. 

What we know:

Upper Moreland Township Police Department is asking for the public's help in identifying the suspect in the pictures below. 

They say the offender is a white male in all black clothing and driving a black Toyota Prius.  

The incident occurred on the Upper Moreland section of Horsham Road on Monday, June 9 at 11:26 a.m. 

Police say the suspect walked onto the victim’s property and ripped down a Pride flag before leaving in a Prius.  

What they're saying:

Michael Ceneviva says his pride flag proudly hangs outside his Upper Moreland Township home most of the year, he says, to support some of his family members.

That is, except for when someone tried to rip it down. His camera captured a person walking onto his property at 11:30 a.m. on Monday, ripping the flag down. In the video, you can hear laughter as the person gets into a black car, believed to be a Prius, that drives off.

"It’s just punching down, equal rights isn’t pie, just because I’m getting some doesn’t mean you get less," he said.. "Poor parenting, my kids wouldn’t do that."

Upper Moreland Township say they are investigating and posted still images of the person they say is responsible.

It’s the second time they have taken a report at Ceneviva’s home. He says almost the same exact thing happened just over a year ago, on June 1, 2024. He says a person again ripped the flag down and got into a car that quickly sped off.

"It was DeJa’Vu all over again," he said. "Coincidence? Some people say there’s no such thing as coincidence."

Lori Schreiber is the chair of the Montgomery County Equality Caucus and says she heard about the situation on social media.

"Pride flags are a symbol that you’re loved, you’re accepted, and to again have somebody rip that down and then laugh about it, it does the opposite of what we should be doing as community," she said. "When you see the comments that people make that are so negative, ‘Why do we need to do this?’ and then you hear an incident like that, and you know why we need to do things like raise pride flags."

Ceneviva says the person bent his flag pole, so he cut off the bent part and immediately put the flag back up, where it will stay.

"It was up 10 minutes after I found out about it, they’re not going to intimidate me," he said. "Next time, come knock at the door and we can discuss grabbing my stuff."

What you can do:

If you recognize him, please email tsmith@uppermoreland.org. Anonymous tips can be submitted on our Crimewatch page at uppermorelandpd.org.