Efforts to replace UpStairs Lounge plaque underway | Crime/Police

A replacement for a stolen bronze plaque that honored 32 victims of the UpStairs Lounge fire — considered for decades the deadliest mass murder of LGBTQ+ people in the U.S. — will soon be installed at the French Quarter’s historic site, according to organizer Frank Perez.

Meanwhile, Dannie “Tank” Conner Jr., 40, has been jailed since his arrest Sept. 19 on suspicion of theft and a probation violation, court records show.

New Orleans police suspect it was Conner who picked up the plaque from the sidewalk in the 600 block of Iberville Street one April night, placed it in a trash can and rolled away. The crime was documented via video surveillance.

Perez, executive director of the LGBTQ+ Archives Project, said the stolen plaque has not been found. He described a community shock when it was recorded.

“There were two reactions. Some people said, ‘This is a hate crime,'” Perez said. “The more likely explanation is that he didn’t know what he stole. He just sold it for scrap metal. But we don’t know that.”

Police did not give a motive for the theft. Conner’s criminal history includes a conviction for simple burglary in 2006, when he was caught stealing copper pipes and wires from a Gentilly Woods public school that closed after Hurricane Katrina. According to The Associated Press, police found Conner and two other men cutting down water pipes and pipes with a reciprocating saw powered by a generator.

All were convicted of simple burglary. Conner received a suspended sentence. In 2021, he was charged in Jefferson Parish with being a felon in possession of a firearm, but was found not guilty by reason of insanity. His probation was revoked in June 2022 for failing to follow a drug treatment plan, and a warrant was issued for his arrest, according to Jefferson Parish court records.

Conner remained in jail in New Orleans on Thursday in lieu of $10,000 bail for his latest arrest.

The flat, square slab he allegedly stole was set directly into the red brick sidewalk to honor deceased gay men, women and allies. Survivors and family installed it in 2003 on the corner of Iberville and Chartres streets on the 30th anniversary of the deadly fire. Until then, there was no permanent memorial, although occasionally someone would mark the site with flowers.

Perez hopes the next plaque will be placed on the 1821 building that once housed the popular gay bar, assuming the owner approves. This location at 135-141 Chartres Street was designated an individual local landmark by the Central Business District Historic District Landmarks Commission in July.

In addition to the 32 dead, 15 people were injured. Until the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando in 2016, the fire was the largest mass killing of LGBTQ people in the United States. No one has been charged with a crime.

Perez is raising money for a replacement plaque and plans to dedicate it on June 24 on the 52nd anniversary. Metropolitan Community Church, which lost the Rev. Bill Larson and much of its members in the fire, is the financial agent. The committee is already halfway to its $20,000 goal and donations are being accepted online.

“The sticker won’t cost that much, but we wanted to get insurance in case something like this happens again,” Perez said.