Last week three teens were arrested after they left scooter marks on a pride mural.
Authorities arrested two minors and one adult for allegedly using the scooters to deface the mural, just one day after Lime Scooters were reintroduced to Spokane, Washington.
The popular electric scooter and bike rental service has since unveiled a new plan to prevent this from happening again in the future.
The 19-year-old used a Lime Scooter to leave tire marks on the mural and shouted “f**k you f****t” at a passerby, court documents said according to KHQ.
The Spokane Police Department (SPD) used surveillance footage from the intersection of Washington and Spokane Falls Boulevard to identify all the three suspects.
“911 received a complaint advising multiple subjects on scooters were causing damage to the newly painted Pride mural,” a press release read.
“Officers observed widespread damage as black scuff marks consistent with scooter wheels were observed across the entirety of the mural. The area is clearly marked to keep traffic away as it was just re-painted to repair previous damage.”
The 19-year-old was arrested for first degree “malicious mischief,” per End Wokeness on X, which is a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
He added that prosecutors wanted a $15,000 bail.
Members and allies of the LGBTQ+ community have dubbed the ordeal a display of homophobia, while others have mocked the entire situation considering the damage was minimal.
Lime Scooters has since announced it will implement a “no-go zone” around the crosswalk painted with a large Pride flag mural in Spokane.
This decision directly follows the arrest of the teens, and will now remotely shut down all scooters that attempt to ride over the crosswalk, The Publica reported.
Lime’s website explains a “no-go zone” will cause one of its scooters to “gradually come to a stop,” requiring the rider to walk the scooter until they exit the zone.
The company’s Director of Government Relations Hayden Harvey blasted the teens over alleged “acts of vandalism.”
“All of us at Lime condemn these vile acts in no uncertain terms,” he said.
“At a time when our teams at Lime are beginning pride celebrations around the globe, it is disturbing to see the hate taking place in Spokane.”
X users blasted Lime Scooters over its latest move, with some dubbing it something out of a Black Mirror episode – emphasizing its dystopian nature.
One post that garnered significant traction read, “we thought we’d get ‘cool trenchcoat neon Chinatown technoscape’ dystopia but all we’re getting is ‘my e-scooter shuts down if I try to drive over a pride flag :(‘ dystopia.”
“We already have black mirror, it’s just very gay and stupid,” they added.
The Publica highlighted that the incident in Spokane is not the first time authorities have arrested or investigated someone for “defacing” a pride mural painted on the street.
Authorities arrested a 19-year-old from Clearwater, Florida, back in February after video footage captured him doing “burnouts” with his truck on a Pride crosswalk in Delray Beach.
Dylan Brewer turned himself in to the Delray Beach Police Department after the video circulated online.
He faced charges of felony criminal mischief over $1,000 and reckless driving.
