Florida man arrested for defacing Pride intersection painted to honor Pulse nightclub victims

A 19-year-old Florida man was arrested after he was caught on video defacing a rainbow crosswalk in Delray Beach.

Dylan Brewer, 19, of Clearwater, turned himself into the Delray Beach Police Department yesterday and was promptly arrested for the incident which took place around 8:30 p.m. on February 4 at the intersection of Northeast First Street and Northeast Second Avenue.

“On the evening of Sunday, February 4th, 2024, witnesses reported that Brewer was observed intentionally performing multiple burnouts with his vehicle over the LGBTQ pride crosswalk at the intersection of NE 1st Street and NE 2nd Avenue,” the Delray Police Department said in a press release. “The reckless action caused significant damage to the streetscape painting, which serves as a symbol of unity and inclusivity for the LGBTQ community.”

In the video, a large, dark-colored truck with an American flag flying from the bed can be seen doing burnouts and leaving skid marks on the rainbow-colored intersection. Police indicated they received videos of the incident from multiple witnesses which aided in their investigation.

Brewer was charged with felony criminal mischief over $1000 and reckless driving. He was released earlier today after posting bond.

It is unclear if Brewer will also face hate crime charges.

This is the second time the rainbow intersection was vandalized and captured on video.

A 22-year-old man pleaded guilty in 2022 to defacing the intersection a year earlier. Alexander Jerich, who had been participating in a rally for former President Donald Trump’s birthday, pleaded guilty to felony criminal mischief and misdemeanor reckless driving. In a viral video, a white pickup truck featuring Trump flags is shown burning its tires into intersection. The truck was registered to Jerich’s father.

The Lake Worth native had driven with about 30 other vehicles in the pro-Trump rally in Delray Beach earlier in the day.

The rainbow-colored streetscape had been painted in honor of Pride Month and had been unveiled only a day before it was defaced by Jerich. The rainbow intersection had been dedicated to the victims and survivors of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando in 2016.