'I saw it as a death threat': Petrolia’s Fall Fair return marred by hate crime

A hate crime at the summer fair OPP are investigating after a noose with a pride flag was found at the Petrolia Fairgrounds. CTV London’s Carlyle Fiset reports.

Lambton County OPP are investigating a hate crime committed at the Petrolia and Enniskillen Fall Fair over the weekend.

A noose was found Sunday morning, wrapped around a pride flag and draped over the back of a food truck.

“It was heartbreaking to see,” says Demi Krall, former fair president and LGTBQ2S+ member. “I’m comfortable with who I am, but I know there’s a lot of people who are still struggling to figure out who they are, and it’s very hard to do that when you have people making threats like this.”

OPP did not initially identify what hate crime was being investigated, but when contacted by CTV News London, confirmed it was related to the noose found over the weekend.

An online post by the Petrolia and Enniskillen Fall Fair reads, “We are absolutely disgusted by this hateful act! The Petrolia fair is for everyone! We love and support our LGBTQ2S+ community and we want you to know that despite this hateful act our fair is a safe place for you and we will work hard to make sure this remains a safe place for everyone.”

It was the first fall fair in the community in three years, with the previous two cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Krall says she’s been involved with the fair in some capacity for roughly 25 years, and she couldn’t recall another incident like this happening before.

There have been multiple pride flags vandalized in the town over the last year though, she adds.

“It’s a hate crime for sure,” she says. “I saw it as a death threat, honestly. It’s a noose.”

Since posting about the noose on social media, there has been an outpouring of support.

“Just goes to show that there are a lot more good people than bad people,” Krall says. “Our community is very good at coming together in a time like this.”

CTV News London reached out to the owner of the food truck, Truckin’ Mama’s, but did not receive a response in time for publication.

On social media however, Truckin' Mama's shared, “So much for security at the Petrolia fall fair. Not any fault of the fair board this could have just as easily happened in the park. This is what I show up to this morning at the fair. A hangmans noose with a pride flag in it.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact OPP at 1-888-310-1122.

— With files from CTV News London's Kristylee Varley