Moutsos targets LGBTQ, BLM flags in Rose Park school

You might remember the name Eric Moutsos as being the Salt Lake City Police Department motorcycle officer who resigned from his position rather than participate in the Utah Pride Parade in 2015.

Today, he is an ardent Trump supporter and runs protests against masks, quarantine measures, and the recently distributed Coronavirus vaccine. He also is against anything to do with the Black Lives Matters movement and having rainbow flags in Utah schools.

“These flags are flying at Rose Park Elementary School in SLC, Utah,” Moutsos wrote on his Facebook wall alongside photos of a rainbow flag and a Black Lives Matters flag. “I called the Principal, Nicole OBrien, and spoke to her for about 10 minutes just now. Yes it’s true. I had a decent conversation about the consequences of the flags. I tried to show her where this road leads. I explained to her as a former Salt Lake City Police officer, flying these flags for little kids is very divisive and dangerous for those who disagree with the messages politically or religiously. And the kids do not need this in school of all places.”

OBrien, he says, replied that “we represent all people,” and “This is a safe space.”

Moutsos asked OBrien if he could bring “a straight pride flag, or a Christian flag with a cross, or a [sic] All Lives Matter flag.”

“What about a Blue Lives Matter flag? Would a police officers [sic] child feel safe walking under a flag which organization chants ‘F the police’ ?? How inclusive is this really? Don’t All Lives Matter? Or just certain lives?” he continued.

Moutsos said that the principal sounded like a nice person and encouraged his ultra-conservative followers to contact her directly. He said he would continue to push for the removal of the flags until he found that they were removed.

Commenters said that the flags were temporarily removed, but were put back up after the principal and the school board backed them being displayed.

Abigail Riley, daughter of principal OBrien, posted a photo of the flags and an explanation of her mother’s motivations.

“My mom, who is the principal at Rose Park Elementary, recently put up a Black Lives Matter flag and updated her pride flag to recognize trans and bipoc inclusivity,” she wrote on her Instagram wall. “Her words: ‘It’s all about the tiny humans that walk through the door. They need to feel included and loved.’”

“This decision has received pushback from people who I’d rather not give voice to,” Riley continued. “Her voicemail and email are subject to constant notifications; some in complete support and some fervently against these flags.”

Riley said that the Salt Lake School District supports the display of the flags and that other educators and former students are excited that the flags are represented at the school.

“I could go on for a while about my mother. She is truly passionate about anti-racist work and her students and is constantly working to make the school a safe space for all,” Riley said. “But she wishes to be decentered from this conversation, as she is only a vessel and not the originator of these ideas.”

She asked people to consider what the “simple gesture of a flag where someone sees themselves represented might do to foster a feeling of safety and inclusivity.”