You may get away with spray-painting graffiti on statues of American heroes in the nation’s capital, but don’t try putting skid marks on the Pride street mural in Spokane, Washington.
Three teenagers were arrested on June 5 for using their Lime e-scooters to create black scuff marks on the colorful Pride flag crosswalk at Howard Street and Spokane Falls Boulevard. The offense carries a maximum of five years in prison under the state’s newly enhanced felony hate crime law.
Responding to a 911 call, police arrested 19-year-old Ruslan V.V. Turko and two minors whose names were not released. All three were booked on first-degree malicious mischief. Mr. Turko was released on his own recognizance, according to the Spokane Police Department.
The scooter riders hardly sound like model citizens. One of the minors shouted “f—- you” and “go to hell” when confronted by witnesses, according to court documents cited by KREM-TV in Spokane.
That said, the specter of teenagers facing years in prison for scuffing up a street mural trampled each day by innumerable cars, bicycles and pedestrians struck some observers as excessive.
“The symbol is so revered officials placed it on the ground on a public road,” Portland, Oregon, journalist Andy Ngo posted on X. “And prosecutors are seeking to punish those who leave tire skid markings on the street.”
Other comments on social media included “utter nonsense” and “completely absurd.”
Christopher Rufo, a Manhattan Institute senior fellow, said, “Spokane has allowed the homeless to set up drug encampments on the sidewalks but prosecutes teens for skidding their scooters on an intersection.”
The conservative Legal Insurrection blog called the arrests an example of “woke insanity” and said, “This story is particularly infuriating because these kids were riding scooters on a ‘Pride’ mural that is painted on a road.”
The incident drew comparisons to the protesters against Israel who defaced at least four statues over the weekend at Lafayette Park near the White House. None of the activists was arrested or cited by U.S. Park Police, who were badly outnumbered by the thousands of demonstrators.
“Meanwhile, actual historic statues were defaced near the White House in DC,” said Legal Insurrection. “This is OK, however, because shut up.”
Washington state legislators had the Riverfront Park Spokane mural in mind when they passed Senate Bill 5917, which adds the defacement of public property to a hate crimes law. Gov. Jay Inslee, a Democrat, signed the bill in March. It went into effect on June 6.
Senate Majority Leader Andy Billig, a Democrat who represents Spokane, introduced the measure “in response to vandalism of Spokane LGBTQ+ landmarks in October.”
“The legislation closes a loophole in current law by redefining the state’s hate crime statute to include destruction and vandalism targeting public property like Spokane Pride’s crosswalk,” his office said in a March 13 statement.
Indeed, the crosswalk has become something of a magnet for vandalism. In October, the mural was covered with white paint. Last month, it was set on fire. A few days after the teens on scooters were arrested, someone splashed the mural with orangish paint.
“Our state has passed important laws to protect people targeted for what they look like, who they love, or how they pray,” said Mr. Billig. “This legislation strengthens our hate crime laws by adding our shared public spaces and symbols of inclusion while sending a strong message of unity against these heinous attacks.”
Separating the hardened hate crime offenders from the thoughtless youths may be a challenge. The day after the three teens were arrested, a camera crew for KHQ-TV in Spokane caught another group of scooter riders on camera scuffing up the mural and the nearby sidewalk.
“A group of five to six kids just [started] doing donuts and creating skid marks on the Pride Mural. Right in front of me as we’re reporting on three people getting arrested for doing the same thing last night,” KHQ-TV reporter Adam Schwager posted on X.
He said the scooter riders “also made skid marks up Howard right in front of Boo Radley’s [toy store], so I’m not sure it was targeted at the mural, or just general vandalism.”
Lime, the company behind the motorized scooters, condemned “these vile acts in no uncertain terms” and said it would institute a “no-go zone” at the intersection, meaning the scooters will not work on the mural.
“Lime is proud to put time and resources into celebrating Pride Month each year and supporting LGBTQ+ organizations working to uplift and protect queer people in cities around the world,” the company told KREM-TV. “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.”
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.