Florida Police Announced Police say they have charged a teenager with felony assault after surveillance cameras captured someone doing doughnuts at the Pride Street mural in May.
Christian Meyer, 18, was charged by St. Petersburg police with felony criminal damage to property and street racing.
“This is a very tolerant and inclusive community. I just think there are a few bad people.”
Police said Meyer vandalized a mural in the Grand Central district using a trick called a “donut burnout,” but city crews were able to restore it ahead of Pride Month in June.
Authorities say the damage was estimated at about $1,000.
Police said Meyer posted $5,500 bail and was released.
Lee Manuel, owner of a cocktail bar near the mural, said he was saddened by the series of incidents that have damaged the artwork.
“The first incident was really disappointing, just knowing that it had only recently been repainted and that it’s a symbol of the area,” Manuel said in May.
“To hear it was happening again was just unbelievable,” he added.
Already, some on the right It is called While others have called the boy a hero, Florida’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, has called for Meyer to be pardoned in the case.
Other Blaze TV Presenter Pay Gray mocked the anguished response to the vandalism.
“They act like this is some kind of sacred place, an Indian burial ground or something,” Gray laughed.
In February, another 19-year-old man turned himself in to police and was charged with felony criminal damage to property and reckless driving after performing a similar burnout at an intersection decorated with a rainbow mural in Delray Beach. Later in June, one adult and two minors were arrested for “extensively damaging” a rainbow Pride mural in Spokane, Washington.
Returning to St. Petersburg, Manuel said the vandalism was unusual for the city.
“It’s unfortunate. I’m born and raised here, my family has been in St. Pete for 110 years, and this is not the St. Pete I grew up in,” he said. “Again, a lot has changed, but it’s still a great town to live in. It’s a very tolerant and inclusive town. I just think there are a few bad people.”
Mayor of St. Petersburg Condemned Vandalism.
“In light of the recent vandalism targeting our Progressive Pride flag mural, I want to emphasize that there is no place for hate in St. Petersburg,” Ken Welch said. “Together, we can show that love always prevails.”
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