Truck driver who defaced a Florida pride crosswalk was not ultimately charged with a hate crime

After a deadly shooting at a private Christian school in Nashville, some conservative lawmakers argued the incident should be investigated as a religious hate crime. In response, people online shared 2021 footage of a pickup truck intentionally burning out its tires and leaving skid marks on a rainbow pride crosswalk in Delray Beach, Florida. 

"Florida man charged with a Hate Crime for using his pickup truck to ruin a Pride Crosswalk..." read a viral tweet shared April 3. The post was retweeted by Daily Wire columnist and conservative podcast host Matt Walsh who wrote, "This was categorized as a hate crime but a trans terrorist massacring Christian children was not."

But the claim that the truck driver was charged with a hate crime isn’t accurate. Here’s why.

Florida man charged with a Hate Crime for using his pickup truck to ruin a Pride Crosswalk... pic.twitter.com/u0T3pEqAe4

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— Southland Post (@SouthlandPost) April 3, 2023

The rainbow pride flag intersection in Delray Beach was unveiled on the fifth anniversary of the Pulse nightclub shooting. Two days later, police said the driver, Alexander Jerich, left black skid marks across the street art with his white Chevy pickup truck. 

Jerich, 20, was originally arrested on the charges of reckless driving, criminal mischief and "evidence of prejudice," a hate crime charge that elevates the crime to a felony, according to WPTV in West Palm Beach. 

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But being arrested and being charged are two different things. Police officers can arrest people with probable cause that a crime has been committed, but prosecutors file charges if they believe that a crime can be proved beyond a reasonable doubt in court. 

After the prosecutors reviewed Florida’s hate crime statute, Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg said that Florida’s hate crime enhancement charge could not be applied.

"The law requires that the defendant select a specific victim based on sexual orientation," explained Aronberg in a press conference after charges were announced in August 2021. Because the crosswalk is city property and the city cannot have a sexual orientation, the charge was not applied. 

Jerich was ultimately charged with felony criminal mischief  exceeding $1,000 and misdemeanor reckless driving causing damage. In June 2022, Jerich pleaded guilty to both charges and was sentenced to two years of probation, 100 hours of community service and a mental health screening. 

The claim that Jerich was charged with a hate crime contains an element of truth about the initial arrest, but it ignores critical facts that would give a different impression about the outcome. That’s our definition of Mostly False.