By Ryan Foley, Christian Post Reporter Saturday, February 17, 2024
An aerial image shows a variety of tire marks and “burnouts” from cars driving over the progress pride intersection in Delray Beach, Florida. | Screenshot: YouTube/WPTV News – FL Palm Beaches and Treasure Coast
A Florida teenager is facing felony charges for leaving tire burnout marks on a street intersection painted in the colors of the LGBT progress pride flag, marking the second time the streetscape has been deemed vandalized since it was unveiled less than three years ago.
On Monday, the city of Delray Beach released a statement announcing that Dylan Brewer, 19, of Clearwater, had been arrested for vandalizing an intersection decorated in the progress pride colors that serves “as a symbol of unity and inclusivity for the LGBTQ community.”
Video footage shared by the city, taken in the early morning hours of Feb. 4, shows a black truck driving over the intersection and leaving burnout marks. Brewer’s arrest follows a week-long investigation, which included law enforcement reviewing “smartphone video of the crime” and “multiple reports from concerned citizens who witnessed Brewer engaging in these destructive acts.”
Brewer, who turned himself in to Delray Beach Police on Monday, has been charged with felony mischief of over $1,000 and reckless driving. According to records from the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, Brewer was released on $5,250 bond early Tuesday morning, less than 24 hours after he was booked.
The Delray Beach website features a nearly nine-minute video about the “Pride Streetscape” that was unanimously approved by the City Commission in 2021. A ribbon-cutting ceremony took place on June 12, 2021, the fifth anniversary of the Pulse Nightclub jihadist terror attack that took the lives of more than four dozen people and injured dozens of others. Located in Orlando, the Pulse Nightclub caters to the LGBT community.
As explained by the city, “The streetscape design includes the six colors of the traditional Pride flag as well as the five additional colors of the Progress Pride flag, which represent people of color, and trans and non-binary individuals.”
Brewer is not the first person to face criminal charges for vandalizing the intersection.
In June 2021, just days after the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Alexander Jerich, 20, was arrested for using his vehicle to perform a “burnout” on the streetscape. Jerich faced the same charges as Brewer, criminal mischief over $1,000 and reckless driving, as well as evidence of prejudice.
Jerich did not receive jail time for the burnout incident. Instead, he was ordered to write a 25-page essay about the Pulse Nightclub terrorist attack and sentenced to two years’ probation and 100 hours of community service. Late last year, Jerich had his probation terminated six months early.
While Brewer has been released from custody, one critic of LGBT ideology is portraying him as a “political prisoner” and has asked Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis to pardon him. “Gov. DeSantis must grant an immediate pardon for the fake crime of driving over an LGBTQ flag (which should have never been allowed to be placed there),” said Anthony Sabatini, the chairman of the Lake County, Florida, Republican Party in a post on X Tuesday.
Sabatini is a candidate for the United States House of Representatives. He is running in Florida’s 11th Congressional District, which is held by Republican Daniel Webster.
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: [email protected]
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