A Florida judge has ordered a man who defaced an LGBTQ+ Pride mural to write a 25-page essay about the 2016 Pulse gay nightclub shooting.
Last June, the city of Delray Beach in south Florida unveiled a rainbow mural at an intersection on the fifth anniversary of the attack, in which a gunman killed 49 people at the club in Orlando.
A few days later, police noticed “tire skid marks” that were “approximately 15 feet across the painting”, according to an affidavit.
Cellphone footage sent to authorities showed then 19-year-old Alexander Jerich driving towards the intersection in a white pickup truck with a Donald Trump flag draped over it. According to the police, he had attended a 30-car rally for the former president’s birthday on 14 June.
“The video clearly shows a white Chevy truck stopped at the intersection, and then intentionally accelerated the vehicle in an unreasonable unsafe manner in a short amount of time … The Chevy truck continues to recklessly skid sideways,” the affidavit said.
“The video shows that the driver willfully drove the vehicle with disregard for the safety of any other persons or property.”
Using the license plate captured in the video, police located Jerich, who agreed to turn himself in. He pleaded guilty to charges of criminal mischief and reckless driving, and agreed to pay $2,003 to repair the mural.
During a hearing last Thursday, Jerich hung his head, cried and apologized for his actions but did not offer any real explanation for them, according to the Palm Beach Post.
“I’ve had problems in the past with fitting in,” he said, adding: “I was just trying to fit in and be accepted.”
Rand Hoch, the president of the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council, a local LGBTQ+ rights group, pushed for a year-long sentence for Jerich.
But circuit judge Scott Suskauer appeared to be taken by surprise by Jerich’s personality, saying: “I was expecting someone who displays complete disrespect for their fellow citizens … A person some might call a thug or a redneck.
“This is not the person I was expecting.”
He said needed more time to decide on a punishment.
In the meantime, he ordered Jerich to write a 25-page essay on the 2016 nightclub massacre in Orlando, asking him to research the backgrounds of the victims and their loved ones.
“I want your own brief summary of why people are so hateful and why people lash out against the gay community,” Suskauer told Jerich, ordering him to return to court on 8 June for his sentencing.
Suskauer also asked him to perform community services with LGBTQ+ organizations. However, according to Hoch, none of the groups he is affiliated with are interested in working with Jerich.
“They don’t want the defendant anywhere near our organization or our missions,” he said.
Suskauer said he may also order Jerich to visit the intersection every week alongside his father to keep it clean.
