On March 24, the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office (KCPAO) filed two felony charges for a hate crime and malicious mischief in the second degree against 37-year-old Vladimir Morgun. The accused is alleged to have ripped a Pride flag from a Seattle elementary school flagpole, then proceeded to light it on fire.

While some children were still at the school, Morgun allegedly spent a great amount of time attempting to rip off the Pride flag, and witnesses reported that he threw numerous items he lit on fire and a boulder-sized rock, according to the charging documents, which also noted how the flagpole was damaged in the process.

"Once he was able to take the flag down, he lit it on fire and then stuffed it inside of a statue of religious figure he had further damaged. He wrote slurs on the statue and covered it in feces," according to the charging documents. "The defendant was arrested in yet another alarming incident [in which] he was attempting to enter an occupied home. The defendant admitted to this conduct and to the underlying bias motivating his crime. He also admitted to tearing down at least 16 Pride flags in the Seattle area recently."

But in his court hearing on Monday, April 7, his defense attorney questioned Morgun's competency to undergo further judicial proceedings. This has initiated an evaluation by the State Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS), which will occur at the King County jail with his attorney present. The competency hearing results will be shared with the judge during his next hearing, scheduled for April 22 at 1 p.m. If Morgun is found competent, he will be arraigned and enter a plea.

"If a defendant is found competent, and if the case fits eligibility criteria, a defendant may be referred to Regional Mental Health Court, which focuses on sustained stability for defendant while reducing recidivism and increasing community safety," said Casey McNerthney, the KCPAO communications director.

If Morgun is found to be competent yet does not fit the criteria for the Regional Mental Health Court, then his case will continue through the traditional criminal prosecution process. If he is found not competent after the evaluation, he will likely head to a first competency restoration period with the DSHS at a facility at Western State Hospital, which is typically a 90-day stay, said McNerthney.

If he is still not competent after this first restoration period, prosecutors can request a second competency evaluation, which is also 90 days, and if necessary, they can ask for a third one, which is generally 180 days. McNerthney said if he is still found not competent after three such periods, then the judge can dismiss the case, and if dismissed without prejudice, it can be refiled if Morgun is later found to be competent by a DSHS evaluator.

According to the charging documents, Morgun "has a pending malicious mischief [in the third] degree out of Olympia Municipal Court. He was charged with obstruction of a law enforcement officer and attempted assault in the [third] degree in 2024, but the case was dismissed due to incompetency."