Mayor Releases Statement After Falsely Calling Pride Parade Accident a ‘Terrorist Attack’ – Accused of Pushing False Narrative

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Mayor of Fort Lauderdale Dean Trantalis released a follow-up statement on Saturday addressing the incident in which a truck hit two Pride parade attendees. During a Pride Parade in Wilton Manors, FL on Saturday, a man was killed and another was injured in what proved to be a freak accident. A white pickup truck was in line with other Pride-decorated floats for the parade. The truck randomly accelerated before striking two bystanders. Mayor Trantalis originally labeled this event as a “terrorist act against the LGBT community.” The Mayor said, “It’s terrible. They’re laying on the ground. This is clearly a terrorist act against the LGBT community. This is disgusting, this is why we are fearful of our lives.”

Following the incident, a reporter asked Mayor Trantalis if this event could have been an accident. Trantalis doubled down, reaffirming his position, saying, “[it was] hardly an accident. It was deliberate, it was premeditated, and it was targeted against a specific person.”

The initial police report correctly identified this case to not be an act of terrorism but just an accident. The driver of the truck was physically handicapped in a way where he couldn’t walk the parade. Because of this, the Fort Lauderdale Gay Men’s Chorus nominated the elderly man to drive in the parade. The driver a member of the Gay Men’s Chorus, was wearing a Gay Men’s Chorus t-shirt and was determined to have accidentally accelerated into the bystanders before the parade was set to begin.

The police report details the situation: “As the vehicle began to move forward in anticipation for the start of the parade, the vehicle accelerated unexpectedly, striking two pedestrians. After striking the pedestrians, the driver continued across all lanes of traffic, ultimately crashing into the fence of a business on the west side of the street. The driver remained on scene and has been cooperative with investigators for the duration of the investigation. A DUI investigation of the driver was conducted on scene and showed no signs of impairment.”

After Trantalis realized he misinterpreted the entire situation, assuming the worst had happened, he released a follow-up statement on Facebook. The Mayor never truly apologized for his lack of leadership shown through his “jumping of the gun” by pushing an anti-LGBT narrative onto the car incident.

Other pro-LGBT supporters also immediately pushed to exploit the situation to support their narrative. Far-Left activist Amy Spitalnick labeled the truck driver as a “domestic extremist” and suggested that Florida is passing laws to protect drivers that hit BLM or Pride Parade protestors.

Spitalnick was referencing an “anti-riot” bill that Governor Ron DeSantis signed in April, which grants civil immunity to the driver who civilians that drive into protestors blocking a road. This law also increased penalties for assaulting a law-enforcement officer during a riot. A riot is defined as a public disturbance involving at least three people who are “acting with the common intent to assist each other in violent and disorderly conduct”.

Many others chimed in attacking DeSantis and labeling this event as some random hate crime directed towards the LGBTQ community.

A handful of Twitter users have attacked Trantalis’ rush of judgment, inferring that it ought to violate Twitter’s misinformation policy. Others were upset that Trantalis never apologized for his original false statement, accusing him of lacking responsibility.

Stay tuned to Media Right News for any updates.

Paul Aubert
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