Delray Beach police said they are searching for the driver of a pickup truck that burned tire marks across the city’s rainbow-colored LGBTQ Pride mural last month — the third time the intersection has been vandalized since the mural was first painted in 2021.
The latest incident occurred June 17 during Pride Month at the intersection of Northeast First Street and Northeast Second Avenue, near Old School Square.
Surveillance footage shows a pickup truck stopping at the intersection, then spinning its tires in a burnout and driving away.
🚨 Help Identify Reckless Driver! On June 17, 2025, a black pickup truck did burnouts at the LGBTQ Pride intersection (NE 1st St & NE 2nd Ave). Recognize the vehicle? Call our tip line: 1-888-441-8477. (Video has no audio) pic.twitter.com/sCVI9obFPT
— Delray Beach Police (@DelrayBeachPD) July 15, 2025
Moments later, the same vehicle returns and leaves a second set of marks. Police say the license plate was not clearly visible, and no arrests have been made. The investigation remains active.
The Pride mural, featuring the rainbow colors associated with LGBTQ+ visibility, was approved by city commissioners and installed in 2021. It was funded with $17,000 from the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council and the AIDS Healthcare Foundation.
The mural has now been targeted in three separate acts of vandalism.
In June 2021, just one day after the mural was unveiled, Alexander Jerich, then 20 of Lake Worth, was arrested after doing burnouts across the intersection while participating in a birthday caravan for former President Donald Trump. He later pleaded guilty to related charges.
On Feb. 4, 2024, Dylan Brewer, a 19-year-old man from Clearwater, was arrested after using his truck to do similar burnouts, defacing the mural again. Witnesses and surveillance footage led to his arrest. He pleaded guilty earlier this year to a misdemeanor charge and agreed to pay $5,000 in restitution to the city for restoration costs.
Rand Hoch, president of the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council, told WPEC CBS12 News: “These are extremely hateful people that want to make a statement that they don’t agree with LGBTQ+ people being around.”
“They have no regard for the people who could be in that intersection,” Hoch added. “They just want to make a hateful statement — again and again and again.”
Similar acts of Pride mural vandalism — often involving tire marks — have been reported in other South Florida cities particularly during Pride Month.
