Jonah Sampson, a 30-year-old black man accused of spray painting swastikas on Atlanta’s gay pride rainbow crosswalk, was arrested Friday by Atlanta police after a five-hour standoff with a SWAT team.
A spray-painted swastika appeared on the gay pride crosswalk Wednesday. This prompted Atlanta’s Department of Transportation (AT&T) to quickly respond and clean up. The symbol, however, was also found at the gay pride crosswalk on Wednesday, right next to an antigay slur.
A black man has been arrested in connection to the vandalism at the Rainbow Crosswalk, Atlanta, Ga. Jonah Sampson is alleged to have sprayed swastikas. After a struggle with police, he was taken into custody. Social media users attributed white supremacists to many leftists. https://t.co/iIPYH1NSqU pic.twitter.com/RrLvhqFM1y
— Andy Ngo (@MrAndyNgo) August 23, 2022
Atlanta Police believe Sampson was also responsible for spray-painting similar symbols at Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.
Sampson is facing three charges of second degree criminal damage to property, one count of criminal trespass and a felony charge of interference with government property, Fox News reported.
Sampson remains in custody on a $77,500 bond for all charges, according to the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office.
Local authorities attempted to arrest Sampson at an apartment on Friday around 12: 00 p.m., but he would not leave the premises. As a result, Atlanta police SWAT teams were deployed to the scene. Sampson eventually left the building around 5:05 p.m
Atlanta installed the rainbow crosswalk in 2016 after the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida, left 49 people dead.
