A Gloucester City man has been charged by police in connection with an alleged bias crime that took place June 3 at an LGBTQ-friendly bar in the city.
Bryan S. Roth, 60, of Gloucester City was charged with fourth-degree bias intimidation and with harassment, a petty disorderly persons offense, after police say he threw onto the sidewalk in front of Bayer’s Tavern a rolled-up American flag containing an attached “derogatory” note directed at the Pride flag displayed outside the bar.
Police responded to the incident at the bar, which is located at 500 Jersey Ave., Gloucester City, Camden County, at 12:34 p.m. June 3.
The note, which was taped to the flag, said the following:
“This is a Pride Flag U.S.A.
Not a Rainbow, Plain & Simple
Lost my Bussiness
Any Questions? Anwers Not”
Roth could not be reached for comment. Attorney information for him was not available.
In reaction to the incident, Bayer’s Tavern posted on its Facebook page: “The hate continues but we will prevail and celebrate being our beautiful selves!!! HAPPY PRIDE EVERYONE!”
Out In Jersey profiled Bayer’s in a May 28 article published on its website. The article said that when Justin Benoit and his husband, Blaze, became the new owners in March 2024, they set their first priority as being to make Bayer’s a more inclusive space for everyone, and now the bar has become an inclusive space for the LGBTQ community in the South Jersey suburbs of Philadelphia.
Meechie Ditullio described herself in the article as a regular at Bayer’s and a member of the LGBTQ community:
“Since becoming a regular at Bayer’s, I’ve been wrapped in so much genuine love, unwavering acceptance, and the warmest sense of community. The people there? They honestly feel like family to me. What’s really amazing is that I don’t even really drink alcohol, and it never feels like I have to there. I can just show up, socialize, belt out some karaoke, and eat some truly amazing bar food — like their homemade shepherd’s pie,” Ditullio said.
–Additional reporting by Renee Durante-Hakanson.
