Atlanta Police believe the man shown in this video has spray-painted swastikas on Midtown’s rainbow crosswalks twice this week. (Atlanta Police Department)
Atlanta Police arrested the suspect wanted for spray-painting swastikas and anti-gay slurs on Midtown’s rainbow crosswalks.
Police identified the man as Jonah Sampson, 30, and he’s been charged with criminal trespass, interference with government property, and criminal damage to property.
According to police, there was a standoff between Sampson and a SWAT team at an apartment near 3rd & Peachtree late on Friday afternoon. The suspect eventually exited the apartment and was taken into custody without incident.
A motive for the spray-painting has not been released by police.
The iconic rainbow crosswalks honoring the city’s LGBTQ+ community were spray painted with swastikas and hate speech twice last week on Aug. 17 and 19. Witnesses and surveillance video helped capture the suspect.
Interim Police Chief Darin Schierbaum called the incidents “acts of hate” and said the crimes were hate crimes, according to a report by the AJC.
The city permanently installed the rainbow crosswalks at 10th Street and Piedmont Avenue in 2017 to honor the city’s LGBTQ+ community. Outwrite Bookstore & Coffeehouse, the city’s first LGBTQ+ bookstore, stood at the intersection for more than 20 years before closing in 2012.
