Florida Paints Pulse Crosswalk Black Again After Protesters Colored It Rainbow

The Florida Transportation Department connected Sunday erstwhile again painted complete a rainbow crosswalk successful Orlando that was portion of nan Pulse Memorial aft protesters filled it successful pinch multicolored chalk.

The Transportation Department initially painted nan rainbow crosswalk achromatic and white precocious Wednesday. The multicolored crosswalk was created successful 2017 arsenic portion of a memorial for nan 49 group fatally changeable by a gunman astatine nan Pulse LGBTQ nightclub successful 2016.

A spokesperson for nan Transportation Department said successful a connection Thursday that nan section has a work to “ensure nan information and consistency of nationalist roadways and proscription systems” and truthful guarantee “roadways are not utilized for social, political, aliases ideological interests.”

The spokesperson added that nan Transportation Department updated its Manual connected Uniform Traffic Control Devices this twelvemonth and that nan update prohibits “non-uniform postulation power devices, specified arsenic pavement markings connected authorities and section roads.”

Gov. Ron DeSantis wrote Thursday connected X, “We will not let our authorities roads to beryllium commandeered for governmental purposes.”

The rainbow crosswalk was installed successful 2017.Todd Stewart / Orlando Sentinel via Getty Images file

Hundreds of protesters showed up astatine nan crosswalk Thursday, galore of them wearing rainbow flags, and utilized chalk to colour nan crosswalk rainbow again. Rain washed it away, but protesters person returned each time to color it back, moreover arsenic Florida Highway Patrol troopers stood watch Sunday morning, according to NBC connection WESH of Orlando. The troopers said that protesters could usage chalk connected nan roadworthy arsenic agelong arsenic they weren’t blocking postulation and that anyone utilizing overgarment would beryllium arrested immediately, WESH reported.

However, a Transportation Department unit returned to nan crosswalk Sunday nighttime to overgarment it achromatic and achromatic again, according to WESH, and proscription officials and Orlando constabulary person been stationed astatine nan crosswalk 24/7.

Brandon Wolf, who survived nan Pulse nightclub shooting, wrote Monday connected X: “More officers babysitting nan crosswalk than location were information guards watching nan beforehand doorway of Pulse nan nighttime 49 group were murdered. By a lot.”

As nan section plans to proceed to overgarment complete rainbow crosswalks crossed nan state, protesters scheme to respond. Demonstrations against nan Transportation Department’s argumentation astatine rainbow crosswalks are planned successful Fort Lauderdale, Key West and Miami Beach for Monday night, according to WPLG-TV of Fort Lauderdale and Miami.

“It’s an effort to effort to erase nan beingness of thing to do pinch nan LGBTQ community,” Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis said, according to WPLG.