A man in San Francisco has been arrested for allegedly defacing the Pink Triangle, an LGBTQ symbol that is put up every year during Pride Month on a hill called Twin Peaks.
The suspect was arrested by San Francisco police after they received a report on Tuesday claiming someone was vandalizing portions of the pink canvas that makes up the enormous triangle, the LA Times reports.
“Officers pursued the male suspect on foot and detained him,” the San Francisco Police Department said in a statement.
The suspect was identified as Lester Bamacajeronimo, 19, of San Francisco.
According to police, evidence of "vandalism tools" was found and seized during the arrest. Charges against the alleged vandal have not been made public at the time of this report.
“This vandalism is unacceptable in our city and the San Francisco Police Department condemns this act,” the police statement said. “San Francisco’s Pink Triangle is a powerful symbol of our city’s commitment to supporting LGBT rights and commemorates victims of the past.”
Patrick Carney, the art project's founder, told KRON-TV that the suspect allegedly spray painted black lines on the triangle and damaged 26 pieces of canvas.
Carney said that the tarps can be temporarily fixed with pink paint, but said they would eventually need to be disposed of and replaced.
In addition to the vandalism, Carney said that there have also been anti-trans stickers left near the triangle. He and other volunteers reportedly tried to cover them up or scratch them away.
This year is the Pink Triangle's 30th year atop Twin Peaks, which are the second and third highest peaks in San Francisco. The art project can be seen from Market Street and the Castro District in central San Francisco.
The triangle is made up of 175 tarps and covers approximately an acre of land on the peaks.
This isn't the first time the installation has been vandalized. Previous vandals have set some of the tarps on fire, according to the Pink Triangle's website. Others have defaced the triangle with graffiti.
The triangle isn't an arbitrary symbol; Nazi Germany marked gay men with a pink triangle to identify them. At least 15,000 gay men were sent to concentration camps, and 60 percent of them were killed.
The symbol has since been reclaimed by the LGBTQ community.
Daniel Lurie, San Francisco's mayor, condemned the vandalism in a statement on social media.
“This hateful act of vandalism does not reflect San Francisco’s values and will not be tolerated,” he said in the post.
The SFPD said that even though an arrest has been made, it is still investigating the incident and has asked anyone with information to contact police.
