St. Pete leaders kick off Pride Month with flag raising
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Friday morning, St. Petersburg leaders hosted the Pride Month flag raising to kick off the 2024 Pride season.
St. Pete Pride board members joined Mayor Ken Welch, U.S. Representative Kathy Castor, Florida Representative Lindsey Cross and city council members to raise the Pride Month flag. It’s the 22nd anniversary of St. Pete Pride, according to Welch. St. Pete’s celebration is the largest in the state.
"It's quite remarkable, in my experience, to have such strong support from an administration, from legislators, from a city," Nicole Berman, the executive director of St. Pete Pride, said.
RELATED: St. Pete rainbow street mural defaced about a week before Pride Month
The flag raising came on the same day city crews and volunteers finished cleaning and repainting the Pride flag intersection mural in the Grand Central District. It was defaced when two different vehicles left tire marks on it in less than one week.
According to the St. Pete Police Department, around 9:40 p.m. on Thursday, three people on mini-bikes went around the barricades that were up as city crews and volunteers worked on the mural. They started driving in circles on the mural. SPPD said some people from a nearby bar came out to yell at them.
While this was happening, another bystander told them to leave the mural alone, and one of the people on a mini-bike threw an empty can, hitting the bystander in the shoulder, SPPD said.
The victim wasn’t injured and there was no damage to the mural, according to SPPD. The people on the mini-bikes had left when police arrived. SPPD said officers will be doing frequent directed patrols in the area for the near future.
READ: Businesses vandalized along Central Ave. in St. Pete, frustrating owners: 'We work so hard'
"Preventing similar incidents is challenging, because it is a highly traveled roadway," SPPD spokesperson Yolanda Fernandez said. "We hope that the fear of arrest and heightened awareness will serve as a deterrent."
Friday morning, Welch spoke out against the defacement that happened last week.
"Like Dr. Martin Luther King said, injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere, and I think you're going to see us push harder for inclusive progress in our community and express what we're really about," Welch said. "The acts of one or two deranged folks is not going to hamper us from doing that."
"That kind of behavior just does not reflect what St. Pete is about," Welch said. "The folks who are impacted by that really represent our families, our neighbors, folks that we care about, and that's why you saw the turnout here today for raising the Pride flag. That is what St. Pete is about."
St. Pete police said officers are still looking for the driver of a blue two-door vehicle who did doughnuts on the mural on May 22. Police have identified the driver of the truck involved in the first incident on May 17. That incident is still under investigation and charges are pending.
PREVIOUS: FBI, DHS issue terrorism warning ahead of Pride Month
Local business owners said they’re stepping up security for Pride this year just to be safe.
"You always have a potential that there could be an increased threat just due to the sheer number of people that are going to be here," said Major Markus Hughes of SPPD’s patrol response division and the department’s LGBTQ liaison. "We do change some of our patrol patterns, and we get out there and deploy the officers to the area, because we want everyone to have a good time, but to have a safe time."
Hughes said he encourages everyone to look out for each other, and to speak up if you don’t feel safe.
Organizers said they want everyone to remember the history behind Pride month, and to be united in respecting diversity heading into June.
"The commitment of the City of St. Petersburg to inclusivity and our pride celebration is a testament to our shared values. Together, we stand as a powerful force of equality and acceptance," Berman said.
St. Pete Pride has 13 events throughout June. The kickoff block party is Saturday from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. in the 2300 and 2400 blocks of Central Avenue.
WATCH FOX 13 NEWS:
SIGN UP: Click here to sign up for the FOX 13 daily newsletter