Boat catches fire after owners allegedly harass people flying Pride flags
Instant karma struck the group, but they allegedly couldn't even thank their LGBTQ rescuers
In what can only be described as instant karma, a group of boaters who allegedly harassed people flying an LGBTQ Pride flag were left paddling for their lives after their boat caught fire.
A viral video shared on TikTok and Twitter shows the encounter, which took place on Moses Lake in Washington on Memorial Day.
In the video, taken from a boat on the lake which is flying a Pride flag, another boat can be seen circling the vessel with its occupants yelling.
The video then zooms in, showing a woman, seated on the circling boat, sticking her middle finger up at the Pride flag boat’s occupants.
And then, in a comeuppance so perfect it’s almost too good to be true, the accused bigots’ boat caught fire.
The video shows the boat’s owners frantically paddling towards the boat they had been harassing, as their vessel smokes, flames, and then starts to ferociously burn.
A police boat is shown trying to extinguish the blaze, before the burned-out husk of the boat is filmed being towed away.
“These people harassed my family because we were flying gay pride flags in Moses Lake Washington by racing around us and shouting gay slurs,” Robbie, who identifies as trans and queer, tweeted, showing photos of the incident and sharing a video from his brother’s TikTok account which documented the interaction. “Then, their boat literally blew up! #KarmaIsReal.”
Video of the event pic.twitter.com/JYLqulzqea
— 🏳️⚧️ℂ𝕠𝕤𝕞𝕚𝕔 ℝ𝕠𝕓𝕓𝕚𝕖⭐ (@retro_ushi_) May 31, 2021
In subsequent tweets, Robbie said that despite rescuing the boaters from the water — “They were legitimately hurt/burned,” he wrote — they received no apology or thanks from the group.
The boat’s driver “pulled out his vape he managed to rescue and [smoked] on our boat of asthmatics,” he claimed, adding that the female passenger who had shown them her middle finger “screamed hysterically 75% of the time.”
As for the third passenger? “[He] sat on the end of the boat because he’s embarrassed he literally shit his pants out of fear,” Robbie tweeted.
Blue dot pulled out his vape he managed to rescue and smoke on our boat of asthmatics. Green dot screamed hysterically 75% of the time and red dot sat on the end of the boat because he's embarrassed he literally shit his pants out of fear. pic.twitter.com/QlVnLODi82
— 🏳️⚧️ℂ𝕠𝕤𝕞𝕚𝕔 ℝ𝕠𝕓𝕓𝕚𝕖⭐ (@retro_ushi_) June 1, 2021
Speaking to the Washington Post, Robbie, who didn’t want his full name included, said that their boat had four passengers — himself, his brother, and two others — and flew two Pride flags.
Around 7 p.m., the other boat approached them, circled them, and they spotted the woman showing them her middle finger.
As the boat began to circle their vessel, Robbie said they could “clearly hear the words ‘gays’ and ‘flags’ being shouted from their boat.”
Robbie said that the group attempted to flee after they realized his brother was filming, at which point the boat emitted a loud noise and started to smoke.
Grant County Sheriff’s Office confirmed in a statement that a boat had caught fire on May 30, and said it was “trying to make contact with the occupants of the vessel being circled so we can interview them to find out what happened.”
“We would like to know more, and once we can interview people, we will be able to know more without relying solely on a brief video,” the sheriff’s office continued.
Police said it wasn’t yet known why the boat caught fire, but Robbie tweeted his own theory, writing, “[They] were driving around us so roughly, they either damaged their carburetor or took in water and stalled. Then fumes built up and when they tried to speed away, the fumes ignited.”
Despite the incident, Robbie and his brother continued to return to the lake, sharing a video of their Pride flags and adding, “We will not hide our #pride.”
And we’re back at it again! We will not hide our #pride pic.twitter.com/Fp9rbCNVmy
— 🏳️⚧️ℂ𝕠𝕤𝕞𝕚𝕔 ℝ𝕠𝕓𝕓𝕚𝕖⭐ (@retro_ushi_) June 1, 2021
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