The Lengthy Seashore Police Division is investigating anti-LGBTQ+ graffiti that included a swastika and a reference to MAGA and was written on a utility field outdoors the Lengthy Seashore Pleasure headquarters over the weekend.
In a written assertion, the Police Division mentioned officers responded shortly earlier than 6 p.m. to the 1000 block of Obispo Avenue a couple of report of vandalism. The coming officers have been then directed to a utility field the place somebody had written derogatory statements towards the LGBTQ+ neighborhood. The incident is being investigated as a hate crime, police mentioned.
Lengthy Seashore Pleasure, a nonprofit group run principally by volunteers that places collectively a well-liked three-day pleasure pageant in Lengthy Seashore, posted photographs of the graffiti and a press release from the interim president on Fb expressing concern and shock over the incident. The photographs present expletive-filled statements directed at members of the LGTBQ+ neighborhood, together with a Nazi image and a hashtag that included the phrase “MAGA,” an obvious reference to President Trump’s Make America Nice Once more motto.
“We should keep in mind: Pleasure started as a protest. It has by no means solely been about parades and celebrations — it’s about standing up for our proper to stay brazenly and absolutely, to share in all of the privileges and freedoms that each American deserves. And we are going to proceed to prevail,” Elsa Martinez, the interim president, wrote in her assertion. “We merely ask that you simply stay vigilant, look out for each other, and proceed to point out the love and resilience that outline us.”
Lengthy Seashore Mayor Rex Richardson took to X to sentence the incident.
“Our metropolis doesn’t tolerate threats or assaults towards our LGBTQ+ neighborhood. Interval,” he mentioned, including that town’s had despatched its graffiti removing workforce to the positioning. “We live by means of a darkish chapter in our nation’s historical past, the place incidents of hate and violence are on the rise and the political tone being set by the nation’s strongest leaders continues to breed division and hate.”
Lengthy Seashore Councilwoman Cindy Allen, whose district consists of the Lengthy Seashore Pleasure middle, echoed that sentiment in a press release issued to her constituents.
“We stay in a time the place concepts might be exchanged freely, and just lately there was numerous dialogue on the character of free speech, which is protected by the Structure,” she mentioned. “However what occurred [Saturday] will not be a matter of free speech, nor was it a matter of trolling — this was plain and easy, old style hate and intimidation, and an affront to our values.”
She mentioned she hoped that these accountable could be discovered and prosecuted.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn, whose district consists of Lengthy Seashore, mentioned on X that Lengthy Seashore Pleasure had been a “beacon of affection and acceptance for many years” and that her workplace had dedicated $2,500 to assist enhance the middle’s safety digicam system.
“My hope is that this can give employees, volunteers and neighborhood members peace of thoughts as they proceed their vital work,” she wrote on X. “These are darkish instances, and I do know it will probably really feel like we’re dropping floor within the struggle for equality, however I would like each LGBTQ+ individual in Lengthy Seashore and throughout Los Angeles County to know this: you aren’t alone, you might be valued, and we are going to stand shoulder to shoulder with you to confront this hate.
Final 12 months, California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta reported that hate crimes, specific these towards LGBTQ+ and Jewish communities, had elevated within the state by 2.7% from 1,970 reported incidents in 2023 to 2,023 in 2024.
“There’s completely no place for hate in California,” Bonta mentioned in a written assertion on the time. “Clear and accessible information is a essential a part of understanding the place we’re and the way we will finish hate crimes in our communities.
“Everybody has an element to play as we proceed to struggle intolerance in California,” he mentioned. “And I urge leaders up and down the state to assessment the info and sources out there and recommit to standing united towards hate.”
