American woman who burned pride flag at SoHo restaurant arrested, police say

By Edward Era Barbacena

The white woman accused of setting fire to a pride flag outside a SoHo restaurant was arrested late Tuesday, according to police.

Angelina Cando, a 30-year-old Manhattan resident, has been arrested and charged with arson, criminal mischief and reckless endangerment as hate crimes.

Cando’s arrest came a day after footage and surveillance images emerged of a woman setting fire to a pride flag outside Little Prince, a restaurant in lower Manhattan.

“Thank you to @NYPDNews for the swift apprehension of the person who set fire the pride flag and Little Prince restaurant,” Council Member Erik Bottcher, who represents the district where the restaurant is located, said in a Twitter post on Wednesday. “Anyone who is contemplating attacks against the LGBTQ community, or any marginalized group, should know they will be held accountable.

Footage showed a woman emerging from a white SUV around 1:30 a.m. on Monday and using a lighter to set the flag ablaze. The fire spread to the building’s exterior, causing damage, police said. No injuries were reported.

Bottcher participated in the rehanging of a new flag outside the Little Prince later that morning.

“I want to note that this flag is five times the size of the original flag,” he said late Monday morning. “So the person who did this, their plan has backfired — and backfired badly.”

Cando’s attorney information was not immediately available.