As swamp king Ron DeSantis leads Florida legislature further and further into abject queerphobia, the real world effects are being made apparent. This week, one of Orlando’s premier LGBTQ+ spaces was attacked and vandalized in the dead of night.
The Southern Nights Complex, comprised of Southern Nights, Southern Craft, and District Dive, had its windows shattered in the middle of the night on Wednesday, with some seemingly left with bullet holes in them.
The bar posted security cam footage of part of the attack:
About 36 seconds into the video, the window just before the Southern Craft sign is shown suddenly splintering before the shady figure briskly walks off.
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“Early Wednesday morning between the hours of 3:30am and 4:00am, the Southern Nights Complex (District Dive, Southern Craft and Southern Nights) was a target of a suspected hate crime,” the bar’s post reads.
Though the camera quality doesn’t seem clear enough to identify a suspect, the Orlando Police Department is currently investigating. The bar requests, “if anyone has any information, please contact OPD immediately.”
Florida Representative Anna Eskamani spoke about the event, calling it a hate crime and sharing photos of the other shattered windows.
The damage is worse than the video shows:
My heart is so heavy– early Wednesday morning between the hours of 3:30am and 4:00am the Southern Nights Complex (District Dive, Southern Craft and Southern Nights) was a target of a hate crime. 1/3 pic.twitter.com/rHPV6qwlAG
— Rep. Anna V. Eskamani 🔨 (@AnnaForFlorida) January 18, 2023
Despite the attack, the brave owners and patrons resumed normal operations by Thursday. Events like their College Night, a Drag Race watch party, and their weekly “Girl The Party” night are moving forward in the face of this pathetic attempt at intimidation.
Based in the city that faced one of the biggest LGBTQ+ tragedies in this nation’s history, the bar offers one direction to its community:
“Please stay safe, Orlando.”
