An area meant to represent inclusion and pride on South Beach became a target of a hateful act of vandalism, leading to four men being detained by Miami Beach Police. The incident occurred at a bench on Ocean Drive and 12th Street in Lummus Park. The bench was donated by Miami Beach Commissioner Joseph Magazine in April and was installed after Florida ordered rainbow crosswalks to be removed. But on Monday afternoon, police said four men targeted the bench with hate. Surveillance cameras captured the men walking towards the LGBTQIA bench, with two of them sitting down. One drew something on the seat, and police believe that they left behind a drawing of a swastika with the words “Adolf [Hitler] was here,” next to it. The cameras helped Miami Beach Police use their real-time intelligence center to track down, detain, and question the four men at Seventh Street and Ocean Drive. Magazine said watching the video was a gut punch to the community. “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 Magazine. “We stand unequivocally against hate of any kind here in Miami Beach, and we will not tolerate it. But what we saw there was swastikas.” City crews quickly removed the entire bench and the hate-filled graffiti on Monday night. “I donated this bench, but it wasn’t for me, it wasn’t for city hall, it was for our community,” said Magazine. The hateful act came as Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner chaired the first meeting of the Jewish Mayors and Municipal Leaders Association on Monday. “The Jewish community has to and has been coming together,” said Meiner. At the event, local leaders came together to address and counter antisemitism. While the bench has been temporarily replaced by police tape, Magazine said that it will be put back as the city pushes back against hate. “When people do things like this, they want people to be fearful. We are not. We are not fearful of anything; we will stand up to any type of hatred,” he said. Miami Beach Police officials said the men could be arrested. An investigation is currently ongoing. ...read more read less