19-year-old Dylan Brewer, from Florida, has been arrested after he was caught on video defacing a memorial rainbow intersection in Delray Beach dedicated to the victims and survivors of the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting.

The rainbow-coloured intersection was paid for by the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council and the AIDS Healthcare Foundation to honour the memory of the victims and survivors of the 2016 shooting that took place at the LGBTQ+ nightclub Pulse in Orlando, Florida. In that terrible incident, 49 people were killed and 53 wounded before the police fatally shot the killer.

On February 4, several people witnessed 19-year-old Dylan Brewer “intentionally performing multiple burnouts with his vehicle” to deface the Pulse shooting memorial. According to a press release by the Delray Police Department, “The reckless action caused significant damage to the streetscape painting, which serves as a symbol of unity and inclusivity for the LGBTQ community.”

Witnesses were able to provide videos of the scene to the police to aid their investigation. Moreover, Brewer turned himself in on Monday, February 5, but didn’t provide a statement to law enforcement. He was initially taken to the Palm Beach County jail and later released from custody.

Brewer has been charged with felony criminal mischief and reckless driving. It is unclear whether he will also face hate crime charges.

A similar case took place in July 2021, when Alexander Jerrich similarly vandalised the same intersection while participating in a rally to celebrate former US President Donald Trump’s birthday. A viral video of the episode showed a truck carrying Trump flags burning its tyres over the crosswalk.

Jerrich’s case was brought to court and he was ordered to write a 25-page essay about the Pulse shooting. The court, however, declined to pursue the felony criminal mischief charge brought against Jerrich.

In response to Jerrich’s sentencing, Rand Hoch, founder of the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council, commented: “Defacement of the memorial to the LGBTQ+ community should be considered a hate crime. However, local State Attorney David Aronberg previously determined that since the intersection is owned by a municipality and not an individual, Florida’s hate crime statute does not apply.”