Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Republican lawmakers in the state passed a controversial ‘anti-protest’ law earlier this year as the trial for Derek Chauvin, the Minneapolis ex-cop who kneeled on George Floyd’s neck, was coming to a close.
Democrats at the time pushed back on the measure saying it violates Americans’ right to protest. Now, it appears that a young Trump supporter could be the first person charged under the new law.
According to Salon, 20-year-old Trump supporter Alexander Jerich is accused of deliberately making skid marks across a mural meant to commemorate the 2016 Pulse Nightclub shooting, in his Chevrolet Silverado. The Palm Beach County Human Rights Council is asking prosecutors to invoke the law.
“It seems obvious to me the elements of the crime were met one by one,” Rand Hoch, president and founder of the Palm Beach County HRC, told a local news outlet. “It shocked me. I mean really this is not something we expected at all. He was doing it to make a statement that he thought he could drive all over the LGBTQ community.”
Jerich had reportedly just participated in a rally meant to honor Trump on his birthday before destroying the mural.
Witnesses told police that they saw the white Chevy truck with a “Trump flag” on the tailgate and heard another man yell to the driver, “tear up that gay intersection” before Jerich used his car to deface the mural which was unveiled two days prior to the incident, at a cost north of $16,000.
Jerich has been charged with criminal mischief, reckless driving, and evidence of prejudice. Salon notes that under the new law signed by DeSantis, he could face tougher penalties.
WPEC’s Sam Kerrigan noted: “When it comes to this case, the key here is that this new anti-riot law also stops someone from damaging historic property or a memorial. And under the law, this new Pride mural in Delray Beach, here, qualifies as a memorial because it’s dedicated to the lives lost in the Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando.”
