LGBTQ+ Street Mural Defaced 2nd Time In St. Pete Ahead Of Pride Month

Updated: Friday, 3:18 p.m.

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — For the second time in a week, the vibrant Grand Central District street mural painted in rainbow colors to represent the LGBTQ+ Progress Pride flag has been defaced by tire marks.

The mural, located at the intersection of Central Avenue and 25th Street, was recently repainted by volunteers on May 6 just ahead of LGBTQ+ Pride month in June. It was initially painted in 2020.

The vandalism happened after the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security issued a joint May 10 warning about the potential for foreign terrorist organizations and their supporters to target LGBTQ+-related events and venues associated with the upcoming June Pride Month. The U.S. Department of State issued a similar travel advisoryon May 17 for Americans abroad.

The first set of tire marks, a straight line that runs through the entirety of the crosswalk mural, were left behind May 17 around 9:30 a.m. by "a truck that accelerated through the mural," according to a St. Petersburg Police Department news release.

• Also Read: Recently Repainted LGBTQ Pride Street Mural Defaced By Tire Marks

In "a more egregious incident," a second set of circular tire marks were made early Wednesday, just before 3 a.m., when a blue two-door vehicle "spun out doing doughnuts all over the street mural," police said.

Investigators don't believe the incidents are related.

This is considered a criminal mischief felony offense because it will cost the city $1,100 to restore the street mural, according to police. The city plans to restore the mural in time for Pride month festivities.

Anyone with information on the blue vehicle pictured in the video above is asked to contact St. Petersburg police at 727-893-7780 or text SPPD + the tip to TIP411.

Greg Mikurak, the owner of the nearby Ride’em Cowboy whose surveillance cameras recorded both incidents, told Patch that the vehicle involved in the first act of vandalism was a lifted white pickup truck that looked like a Ford F-250 with a smoke stack exhaust and a sticker of a guy peeing on the back window.

The vehicle from the second incident was a purple or navy blue sports car that looked like a Nissan GTR, he said.

“It’s just ignorant people doing dumb things. It will continue to happen, that isn’t something that can be stopped, but we as the community pull together to make it better,” Mikurak said.

Ride’em Cowboy plans to organize an event to repaint the mural and is working with the city to obtain the permits needed to shut down the street, so a date can be scheduled.

"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. We stand united in valuing and appreciating every resident, regardless of their orientation, gender identity, or expression,” St. Petersburg Mayor Kenneth T. Welch said in a statement provided to Patch. “Our differences make St. Pete the vibrant and diverse community we cherish. The flag mural will be cleaned and refreshed in time for Pride Month. As we look forward to the Pride celebrations, let’s continue to spread the message of love and acceptance even further. Join us as we kick off the festivities with our Pride flag raising ceremony at City Hall on Friday, May 31. Together, we can show that love always wins."

“Unfortunately, I’m never surprised by these things — disheartened, upset, frustrated — but not surprised and I think I’ve been through this level of activism long enough to recognize … that the more you fight, the more you stand up, the more opportunities people have to act in opposition of that,” Dr. Byron Green-Calisch, president of St. Pete Pride, told Patch. “Unfortunately, more often than not, people choose these passive aggressive ways to express their opposition. It’s easier under the cover of night to do this senseless vandalism, rather than have a conversation and come to an understanding or to allow people to just exist.”

St. Pete Pride hosts events throughout the month of June, including its main events — which are among the largest Pride festivals and parades in the country —June 20-22.

Last year's events saw the organization’s biggest turnout since it launched with 500,000 people attending them throughout the month, Green-Calisch said. He expects this year’s events to surpass that number.

St. Pete Pride kicks off Pride month June 1 with a celebration in the Grand Central District.

“We’re going to have our kick-off party right there on that block where the mural is,” he said. “Even with the vandalism, we’re going to reclaim the joy that exists with that (mural.) My hope, though, is we can clean it up or repaint it.”

Safety is on the forefront of organizers’ minds ahead of the June events, especially following the recent terror warning for Pride events in the U.S. and abroad, Green-Calisch added. The organization is working with both city leaders and St. Pete police to put security measures in place.

All events will have metal detectors and bomb-sniffing dogs will be present at larger gatherings, he said. “We’re making sure we’re really covering our bases.”

There will be a police presence at the larger events and St. Pete Pride has also hired an LGBTQ+-owned security company to provide security officers at each happening.

“I remind people that even if you don’t see police inside our events, we do still have security inside,” Green-Calisch said.

He doesn’t want concerns about safety to scare people off from attending this year’s Pride events.

“I say this with a double-edged sword that I want people to come out to our events and I also want to keep people safe,” he said.

Green-Calisch nodded to the upcoming eighth anniversary of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando on June 12. It was one of the worst mass shootings in U.S. history, leaving 49 people dead and 53 wounded.

“Pulse was the largest number of lives lost (in a shooting) and that was queer people,” he said. “It’s not some far off thing that we can ignore. And there was a religious zealot component to that shooting as well.”

Despite the potential for threats, there’s a lot of excitement around this year’s Pride events, especially since it’s taking place in a presidential election year and following years of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation being enacted in Florida, according to Green-Calisch.

“So, we are actively doing all of the things we can do to protect ourselves while also leaning into joy,” he said. “I think you’re going to see a more boisterous pride this year. The theme this year is ‘Rainbow Revolution’ and I’m excited that the revolution will, indeed, be televised.”