Police are investigating two possible cases of intentional vandalism in Fort Lauderdale, Florida after one driver left tire marks on a 150-foot-long pride flag painted on a downtown street. Afterwards, teenagers appeared to be riding their bicycles across the mural, causing more damage.
In the security footage, a truck can be seen doing a burnout on the flag while the passenger of his vehicle got out to videotape. “It is incredibly hurtful, it’s something we work for at Pride to bring people together, to let them know we expel the hate and try to stay positive and loving, and to see this, which is completely senseless, it’s completely filled with hate, it’s unnecessary,” said Miik Martorell, President of Pride Fort Lauderdale.
Fort Lauderdale resident, Mary Jo Whitehurst, said “I just see people that have time on their hands that are destructing property and spewing hate.”
Shortly thereafter a team was assembled to repair the symbolic mural. What is seen next is a group of teenage boys riding their bicycles over the flag, attempting to make tire marks of their own.
These unbelievable actions taken against the LGBTQ+ community have caused some to call it a hate crime; however, in 2021, one Florida man got away with defacing a similar mural, escaping the hate crime charge.
“We were, however, unable to apply Florida’s hate crime enhancement statute because the law requires that the defendant select a specific victim based on sexual orientation. Since the Pride streetscape is the property of the City of Delray Beach, the city is the named victim. Since a city has no sexual orientation, the state’s hate crime enhancement law cannot apply.”
MetroWeekly — 2021 vandalism case
Obviously, these acts are just another example of white rage — or it’s possible that some Florida residents don’t agree with the LGBTQ+ messaging, and would prefer to not have it rubbed in their faces constantly while out in public.
Per NBC Miami, reports claim, the flag was a project created by the City of Fort Lauderdale to celebrate “Pride of the America,” a weekend-long pride festival. Fort Lauderdale Police Chief Patrick Lynn said in a statement, “The Fort Lauderdale Police Department is deeply disturbed this incident took place. We stand in support of our LGBTQ community and will continue to gather details surrounding this vandalism.”
