A driver was caught in the act doing donuts, or driving in circles, atop a rainbow street mural outside of Richmond Triangle Players on W. Marshall Street in Scott’s Addition Monday afternoon. The mural, painted in celebration of the LGBTQ-centric theater’s 25th anniversary in the neighborhood in 2018, was the first of its kind in the City of Richmond.

Philip Crosby, Executive Director of Richmond Triangle Players, posted the aftermath of the artwork’s destruction on Facebook shortly after 3:00 PM Monday.

Lucian Restivo, the theatre’s Artistic Director, caught the driver in the act and posted a photo of the individual driving east down W. Marshall Street towards Arthur Ashe Boulevard. Both Restivo and Crosby caught a glimpse of the driver’s license plate.

Richmond City Council Second District representative Kimberly Gray released a statement on the matter, saying, “The Richmond Triangle Players have been an integral part of the Richmond community for more than a quarter-century and have been leaders in promoting diversity. Their strong commitment to the City’s LGBTQ community is exemplified by the Rainbow Crosswalk painted last year in front of their theater in the Scott’s Addition neighborhood. One individual’s senseless act of vandalism will not deter our commitment to equality and diversity. I pledge to work with the Triangle Players and the City administration to take whatever immediate action is necessary to restore and repaint this crosswalk.”

Scott’s Addition Boulevard Association President Trevor Dickerson also weighed in, saying, “The rainbow mural outside of Richmond Triangle Players at the Robert B. Moss Theatre (RTP), which the boards of both the theatre and SABA worked together to have approved and installed, is the first of its kind in the city and serves as not only vibrant street art, but as a symbol of our neighborhood’s diversity and inclusiveness. It is not known at this time whether the driver of the vehicle targeted the mural for its connection to the LGBTQ community or not, but we stand with our friends at RTP in solidarity regardless, because hate does not have a place in Scott’s Addition. We hope to find the individual responsible for defacing this piece of public artwork soon.”

Crosby reached out to Richmond Police’s recently-appointed LGBTQ Liaison, Captain Michael Bender, to report the incident. We’ll continue to follow this story as details emerge.