MIAMI BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - One man has bonded out of jail and one remains in custody after they were charged with vandalizing an LGBTQ bench with hateful symbols in Miami Beach.
According to authorities, surveillance video from Ocean Drive on Monday afternoon captured two men sitting on the rainbow bench before one of them appears to scribble something onto a yellow section of the bench. A closer inspection of that spot showed a swastika and writing that said: “Adolf was here.”
Police later arrested 62-year-old Gunther Jekschtat and 58-year-old Christoph Rehak. On Tuesday night, Rehak walked out of jail in West Miami-Dade and ran away from the news cameras.
A day earlier, however, Miami Beach Police said the pair was visiting South Florida from Germany when they scribbled the disturbing message onto the bench.
Prior to sitting on the bench, surveillance showed a group of four men walking toward it and standing around for a few moments. One of the men reaches into his fanny pack and appears to hand something over to another man in the group. Shortly after, two of them sat down on the bench, when police say the vandalism occurred.
After getting up from the bench, the man accused of making the drawing stops for a moment to take a photo of his apparent handiwork before walking away.
The hateful message drew swift criticism from local officials.
“An egregious act of hate here,” said Miami Beach Police spokesperson Christopher Bess. “There’s no place for hate in our city.”
“It was a gutshot. It was, because it wasn’t just a bench. We came together as a community and out of a show of unity, out of a show of love, out of a show of welcomeness,” said Miami Beach Commissioner Joe Magazine. “You don’t hurt us, you don’t scare us, we’re going to come back even better and with more resolve.”
For Magazine, the act of vandalism was personal. He had donated the bench to the city in April, installing it along with rainbow pavers at Lummus Park after Florida ordered the city’s Pride crosswalk be removed.
“It wasn’t just about the LGBT community — it was about standing up for everybody, fighting against hate, fighting against hate of any kind,” said Magazine.
Moments after the four men left the area, Miami Beach Police quickly tracked them down and detained them. They would eventually arrest Jekschtat and Rehak.
“What they didn’t know was that our eyes in the skies were looking right at them, and in a matter of minutes we were able to arrest them,” said Bess.
The German Consul General said that he has already reached out to city leaders.
“Making sure that the community knows that we stand together against such acts of antisemitism and hate, and that’s not something that we will tolerate,” said Consul General Christopher Burger from the German Consulate General Miami.
According to the arrest report, Rehak drew the swastika while Jekschtat provided cover for him. Both men told officers they thought it was a joke.
Police said that they hope that the misdemeanor charges will be enhanced to a hate crime.
“Though they thought it was a joke, the joke’s on them, because they are behind bars,” said Bess.
The bench was later removed to be repaired. A cone surrounded by police tape has been placed in its previous spot.
Magazine made assurances that it will be returned once those repairs are made.
“When people do things like this, they want people to be fearful. We are not,” said Magazine. “We’re not fearful of anything. We will stand up against any type of hatred.”
Jekschtat and Rehak were charged with criminal mischief. As officers spoke with both men, they reportedly did not get the impression that they meant the acts of vandalism as an intentional message of hate.
As of late Tuesday evening, Jekschtat has posted bond, but is still behind bars.
Copyright 2026 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.