1,200 Israeli flags vandalized outside McKinney church ahead of Oct. 7 observance

It was designed to be a striking display of support for Israel during a week of remembrance of the deadly Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023. 

But the symbolic gesture outside a McKinney church has instead made it a target of threats and vandalism. 

Len McLaughlin isn't afraid to speak his mind, whether it's behind or even away from the pulpit. 

"We feel it is biblical and deeply spiritual to be a church that supports Israel," said McLaughlin, senior pastor of Heritage Church at McKinney

McLaughlin had 1,200 small Israeli flags placed around the property in memory of the 1,200 victims of the deadly Hamas attack that happened three years ago on Wednesday. 

"We feel it is important to take a moment to remember those folks, and in their memory, we put the flags up," McLaughlin said.

But when the pastor of the church arrived this morning, he said he found, "They pulled all of them up  and stomped all them all of them into the ground, really just showed total disrespect."

Hundreds of the flags were pulled up and tossed around into piles on the ground. 

"They came in the darkness of night," McLaughlin said. "They're cowards who did this. They're not patriots."

The pastor filed a police report, but he was moved by the sight of people he didn't know already working to restore the display. 

"And to my surprise, there were five strangers from our community, a couple of ladies from the veterinary clinic across the street," McLaughlin said. 

The pastor is also receiving support from people in his neighborhood, such as McKinney resident Russ Mortenson. 

"It's beyond belief," Mortenson said. "It's hard for me to understand that. I found them to be very impressive and hopefully meaningful."

The vandalism comes at a time when the pastor says the church has also been receiving threats over its Israel exhibit. 

The flags are back, but by no means safe from another act of vandalism. 

The church plans to expand its security while the display is on. 

"I wouldn't want anybody to go to jail over it, but I certainly would like for them to be fined and treated as criminals because what they did was criminal," McLaughlin said.