One adult and two minors were charged with felonies after they rode scooters over an LGBTQ+ crosswalk in Spokane, Washington, and the scooter rental company declared a no-go zone to protect the mural.
Spokane police said they were called by reports of vandalism on the mural, and they said they were able to witness some of the damage being done firsthand.
‘It is disturbing to see the hate taking place in Spokane … We will not let the hateful few spoil the joy of Pride Month.’
They arrested three people, two of whom were minors, and charged with class-B felony of malicious mischief in the first degree.
A criminal complaint said the teens responded with epithets when they were confronted by other residents during the incident.
Investigators said there was “widespread damage” to the Pride mural, including “black scuff marks consistent with scooter wheels.” Photographs with the police report showed about 14 black skid marks.
Lime, a company that rents scooters to pedestrians, said it was instituting a “no-go zone” over the mural so that its devices would stop working if someone tried to ride them into the LGBTQ+ crosswalk. A scooter that enters a no-go zone will slowly come to stop until the rider walks it out of the zone.
Lime Director of Government Relations Hayden Harvey released a statement to the National Desk saying that the company strongly condemning the acts of “vile” hatred committed via scooter wheel.
“All of us at Lime condemn these vile acts in no uncertain terms,” said Harvey.
“At a time when our teams at Lime are beginning pride celebrations around the globe, it is disturbing to see the hate taking place in Spokane,” he added. “We will not let the hateful few spoil the joy of Pride Month in Spokane, and are grateful for those working to make Spokane more welcoming for all.”
The adult was identified as 19-year-old Ruslan V. V. Turko, while the two minors were not identified due to their age.
Spokane Pride said it raised enough money through a fundraiser to repair the damage from the black scuff marks of hatred from the mural.
Police also said that the mural had recently been resurfaced to address previous damage after someone lit the crosswalk on fire in May.
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