Florida drivers were met with a violent and homophobic message on a road in Orlando this week.
The message, written in all capital letters on a digital traffic sign, said “KILL ALL GAYS.”
Orlando police, who were made aware of the incident early Wednesday, said the sign appeared to be tampered with, according to WESH-TV, an NBC affiliate in Orlando. Authorities said the incident is under investigation.
In a statement posted to Twitter on Thursday, Mayor Buddy Dyer called the sign “disgusting” and said “hate has no place in Orlando.”
“To Orlando’s LGBTQ+ residents and visitors: you are respected and valued here. And we won’t be deterred in our efforts to ensure that our city is inclusive for all,” Dyer wrote.
Orlando was the site of the 2016 mass shooting at the gay nightclub Pulse, in which a gunman killed 49 people.
Former state Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith, who is gay and running for a seat in the Florida Senate, said the message is a “sign of the hate and division that has taken hold in Florida” and blamed the incident, in part, on the state’s Republican governor.
“Ron DeSantis’ culture wars are not silly sideshows. They are ruining people’s lives and promoting hate speech that can lead to hate violence,” he tweeted.
The governor’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the incident and Smith’s tweet.
DeSantis has been a vocal proponent of state bills seeking to restrict LGBTQ rights. Last year, he made national headlines by signing what critics dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” law, and on Wednesday he signed four bills restricting LGBTQ rights, including a measure that bans transition-related care for minors and one intended to restrict drag performances.
