MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — Two German tourists were arrested Monday after an anti-Semitic message and symbol were written on a “LGBTQIA+ bench” at Lummus Park in Miami Beach, authorities said.
According to the suspects’ arrest reports, the incident was reported just after 5:30 p.m. in the area of 12th Street and Ocean Drive.
A photo of the graffiti shows a swastika symbol and the message, “Adolf was here.”
Police said they reviewed the city’s cameras in the area and quickly identified the individuals responsible – Christoph Rehak, 58, of Gedern, Hesse, and Gunther Manfred Jekschtat, 63, of Laubach, Hesse.
According to their arrest reports, surveillance video shows Rehak asking a friend for a marker.
Rehak and Jekschtat then sat on the bench next to each other before Rehak began to write on the bench while Jekschtat blocked him with his body so he couldn’t be seen by others, the reports stated.
“There’s no reason why we should just live in a world of hate. We all support each other, we should be supporting each other,” Charles Holmes, who is also vacationing in South Florida, told Local 10 News Tuesday. “It’s just really unfortunate, the world that we live in right now, but I mean, kindness is really just what we have to do for each other, and people like this, when we gather together, it’s really just what we need to be about.”
Police said they located both suspects at the Colony Hotel, on Ocean Drive, where four people were initially detained for questioning.
Police said both Rehak and Jekschtat admitted to their involvement in the incident, with Jekschtat saying his actions were meant to “defend his friend” and Rehak saying he wrote the message as a “joke.”
Both men were arrested on a criminal mischief charge.
Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner reacted to the arrests.
“Oh, it is horrific, it is clearly targeted at the Jewish community (and) the LGBTQ community,” Meiner said. “There is no place for hate, bigotry, racism, antisemitism in our city.”
As of Tuesday afternoon, both were being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on a $1,000 bond.
Rehak apologized in bond court, telling the judge he was “deeply sorry for this very dumb act that we did.”
Meiner said of the “joke” explanation: “How is that a defense? Clearly someone who is trying to hide their actions knows what they are doing is wrong. Nobody in this world thinks that a swastika is a joke.”
Both men were ordered to stay away from the area of 12th Street and Ocean Drive.
German Consul-General Christofer Burger, who represents the country in Miami, told Local 10 News that while officials are still verifying whether the two are indeed German nationals, he was “shocked to hear about this disgusting act of vandalism.”
“Under German law, the use of Nazi symbols such as the swastika would be a criminal offense in of itself, never mind the vandalism, but I have reached out to city leadership here in Miami Beach and Jewish community leaders, to let them know that we want to be supportive, first of all, fixing the damage, but also reassuring the community that this is not something we tolerate,” Burger said. “Hate and antisemitism is something we firmly stand against.”
While it was learned in court that they have both been in the U.S. for 3 1/2 weeks on vacation, they will now need permission from the judge to leave the country. Their next court date has been scheduled for May 28.
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