Holmdel man faces slew of charges in Pride flag incident at Matawan donut shop
The incident happened just before noon Saturday at Main Street Donuts.
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A Holmdel man who attempted to remove a Pride flag from a Matawan business is facing several charges, police say.
The incident happened just before noon Saturday at Main Street Donuts.
The man was also caught on camera making what seemed to be obscene gestures, including Nazi salutes, and shouting Nazi propaganda.
Joe Rizzuto, who owns Main Street Donuts, called the incident horrifying. He was in the back of his store Saturday afternoon when an employee shouted that someone was stealing the Pride flag that hangs outside the store. The man was dressed in a hat and wig.
“I said, ‘That’s my flag.’ He goes, ‘Now it’s mine,’” Rizzuto said. “And we were struggling back and forth. A few minutes later, the guy drives by again, stops his car and screams, ‘I’m going to burn down your business and burn down this building.’”
Rizzuto said the man accused in the incident also made Nazi salutes.
“I was shaken after that. It changed me. I wasn’t good for the rest of the evening,” Rizzuto added.
Residents who were informed online about the alleged incident said they were shaken as well.
“We were just floored, shocked,” said resident Scott Mazzella. “No one likes to see that kind of thing happen in your town.”
“I was in tears, actually,” said resident Maria Milazzo. “I said, ‘Why?’”
According to the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office, 61-year-old Maciej Wojciak, of Holmdel, is facing multiple charges, including bias intimidation and terroristic threats.
The incident occurred one week after Rizzuto said thieves stole the cash register out of his Belmar store. Although the Matawan Pride flag is behind glass for now, it’s not going away.
“If you don’t like my flag, don’t come to my shop,” Rizzuto said. “That flag is going out again. I’m proud of who I am.”
And so is his community. The line stretched outside the door the next morning. The shop sold out of donuts before noon. Customers also left their own signs of support.
“On the windows, all these kids wrote beautiful pieces of love and acceptance,” Rizzuto said. “That’s what we need in this world.”
“To see that speaks volumes about the kind of people that are here,” Mazzella said. “There are so many more good people.”
“I think it’s a sense of encouragement that you’re welcome here,” Milazzo said.
Fulfilling a sold-out day of orders was a family effort for Rizzuto, his husband and their 17-year-old son, Luke.
“He slammed it today and made, I don’t even know how many, hundreds of donuts,” Rizzuto said. “I am very, very proud of him.”
Wojciak was charged with bias intimidation, terroristic threats, criminal mischief and disorderly conduct.
Wojciak was taken to Monmouth County Correctional Institution.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office Detective Adam Hess at 800-533-7443 or Matawan Police Department Detective Mason Sheehan at 732-290-2038.
