ORLANDO, Fla. — Two individuals were arrested on November 23, 2025, for defacing the former Pulse Memorial crosswalk with chalk and chalking the word ‘Resist’ on the asphalt near it.
An FHP trooper responded to the scene after the Department of Transportation notified the Regional Communications Center of the incident. The suspects, identified as Austin Trahan and James Houchins, were seen in a video aggressively chalking the crosswalk.
The video provided to Trooper Gonzalez showed Trahan and Houchins grinding chalk onto the crosswalk, with the word ‘Resist’ chalked nearby. A third unidentified individual acted as a lookout during the incident.
Upon arrival, Trooper Gonzalez observed the crosswalk had been defaced and found Trahan and Houchins at a nearby Dunkin Donuts, matching the description from the video. Both suspects denied defacing the crosswalk, claiming they were only chalking the sidewalk.
The suspects did not have physical identification and provided their names and birthdays to the trooper. Both were placed under physical arrest at 2:21 PM.
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