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Tag: Zane Aparicio

  • Pulse memorial Protestors have a stop the violence rally following Saturday’s assault

    Protestors were back out at the Pulse Memorial Sunday afternoon for a stop the violence rally. This comes a day after a protester said they were assaulted by someone on Saturday afternoon.

    Orlando police are investigating the alleged assault.

    The victim is Zane Aparicio, who goes by Cait. Cait and a few others protested the state’s decision to paint over the rainbow crosswalk in front of the memorial.

    They told police a man and a female passenger pulled up in a Tesla. The man got out and went for the flags.

    “He marched, with purpose, to the corner and grabbed the Trans flag and the Pride flag out of where we had them posted up and threw them into oncoming traffic,” said witness Andrew Daniel.

    Cait and Daniel said they both ran over to get the flags. Cait admitted to chasing after the man in the Tesla to stop him from leaving.

    Cait and Daniel said the man had been driving by the area since Wednesday. They said the man kept cursing and shouting at the protestors.

    Cait said the man would shout things like “we should die. We’re violent.”

    Cait and the other protestors said they took those as threats.

    “That’s exactly why I was trying to stop him and called the cops,” Cait said. “It’d be easier to let him walk away and not have the cops go after him. But, in the end, what’s stopping him from coming back tomorrow, Monday night, or Tuesday night to escalate further?”

    The protestors at Sunday’s rally said they are tired of being mistreated for just wanting to live their lives and honor the victims of the 2016 mass shooting.

    “What happened yesterday was tragic,” said Melody Short.

    Short is one of the three protestors arrested a few weeks ago for chalking in the crosswalk. Melody said the way they’re being treated is heartbreaking.

    “It’s exhausting because even in the army, I had to fight for my rights just to be me. I come home just to get thrown to the curb because I’m a queer veteran,” Melody said. “It’s disgusting.”

    The protestors say the hate is not going to stop them from speaking up. Cait is planning to press charges when or if the man they say attacked them is found and arrested. protester

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  • Three more Pulse protesters released from jail after arrests for using chalk at crosswalk

    Three people arrested late Sunday evening for using chalk to protest the state’s removal of the Pulse rainbow crosswalk were released from jail Monday pending charges from the state attorney’s office.

    Maryjane East, 25, Donavon Short, 26, and Zane Aparicio, 39, were arrested and booked by Florida Highway Patrol on Sunday night outside the Pulse memorial in Orlando and charged with defacing a traffic device — a statute that typically covers electronic traffic devices such as lights and signals.

    The arrests come after Orestes Sebastian Suarez was arrested Friday night by Florida Highway Patrol on the same charge. Suarez was also released shortly after he was booked after the judge found no probable cause he committed the crime.

    However, a judge on Monday did find probable cause for the three latest arrests. However, there were no charges pending after they were released on their own recognizance, and any further charges would need to be brought forward by Orange-Osceola State Attorney Monique Worrell.

    Blake Simons, the attorney representing both Suarez and the three arrested late Sunday night, said FHP’s arrest report from Sunday was much more detailed and included allegations of damage of over $1,000.

    “I would argue water-soluble chalk that washes away while you’re being arrested doesn’t amount to over $1,000 worth of damage,” Simons said after appearing before the judge Monday morning.

    FHP and Orlando Police Department have been stationed at the Dunkin Donuts next to the Pulse memorial for over a week, telling protesters they won’t be arrested if they are not impeding traffic.

    Protests initially erupted last month after the Florida Department of Transportation painted over the rainbow crosswalk, meant to memorialize the 49 victims of the 2016 mass shooting, in the middle of the night. Since then, the department has repainted it at least once more due to ongoing protestors coloring the crosswalk with rainbow paint and chalk.

    FDOT has ordered other cities to remove rainbows and other painted designs from their roads.

    DeSantis has defended the state’s actions, saying it’s not political and cited a new state law — a claim lawmakers refute — and that the designs “jeopardize both driver and pedestrian safety.”

    But an Orlando Sentinel analysis of city traffic data shows the opposite. The city’s many decorative crosswalks and murals in Downtown Orlando, including the crosswalk by Pulse, have helped reduce crashes with pedestrians despite increased foot traffic.

    In a statement, FDOT said it conducted a “months-long” update of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices with input from representatives of state and local governments. The update included a prohibition on “non-uniform” traffic control devices and explicitly “prohibits the application of pavement or surface art on travel lanes, paved shoulders, intersections, crosswalks or sidewalks.”

    The four arrested protesters are part of a larger, coordinated effort to maintain protests against the state’s removal of the rainbow crosswalk. On Reddit’s Orlando forum, one person — who said they had been at the crosswalk all of last week — claimed the three intended to be arrested for the cameras.

    “Do not worry, we planned this for live cameras to see. Now we get to see what a judge says about them violating our first amendment rights, and we hope it leads to us being allowed to continue the chalk,” wrote Reed, who asked to only be identified by their first name.

    Following the arrest of the three protesters at the Pulse memorial Sunday night, the remaining protesters marched to Orlando City Hall downtown where they wrote messages in chalk.

    “You can’t erase us,” one chalk message read.

    “We’re just getting started,” read another.

    Protesters returned to city hall Monday afternoon.

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