Incredibly lonely and tortured by regret, Alexander Drummond has spent the last few nights questioning his decision to vandalize the Back the Blue mural in Tampa, the vandal revealed in an exclusive interview from his Florida home with Your Content.
Four suspects, three adults and one juvenile, were arrested Wednesday for spray-painting profanity and drawing pigs on the ‘Back the Blue’ mural in the downtown area, reports FOX 13.
Providing an in-depth confession from his Tampa home Wednesday afternoon, Drummond, 18, told Your Content he orchestrated the defacement after local elected officials didn’t take issue with its existence.
âWe just had an issue with that mural being put down illegally,â the 18-year-old hooligan quipped.
âAnd then after the fact, the mayor saying she welcomed the mural, thereâs no way she didnât know how much controversy it would cause for people, especially in Tampa.â
It’s the third time within two weeks that the mural had been vandalized.
The Worst Plan of His Life?
Drummond told Your Content he rallied up the troops and journeyed to Tampa Police Department on Aug. 1 alongside his vandal pals – Seth Raigoza, 18, and Emily Gabaree, 19, to single-highhandedly take the mural down due to its meaning.
But their plan backfired after the group was captured by police at about 11 p.m. spray-painting pro-Black Lives Matter messages over the mural, as well as graphic pictures and the word âpigs,â according to The Washington Examiner.
Their Intent to Legally Break the Law
The trio and their leader will take the legal route next time to avoid breaking the law, according to Drummond.
âI do and Iâll do everything Iâm able to, to make sure my future actions are legal and more reasonable,â Drummond told Your Content.
He noted the trio did ânot planâ to vandalize the mural. According to Drummond, the spray paint cans were in their possession for their clothing brand.
âWe usually use the spray cans for our clothing designs that we work on for our separate brands, so this was definitely a heat of the moment thing, but we did not plan to prior to this.â
My Poor Judgement Was Ignited by Passion
Drummond included in his confession a tip for future vandals â donât do it.
âI definitely recommend going the legal way, and Iâm going to continue going about things the right way, with peaceful protests and petitions.
âI donât recommend anyone goes about this movement the way I did. I was very passionate in the moment and that led to me having poor judgment.â
Facing It Alone?
Your Content asked what the response from the vandalâs family was and if they would help him foot the legal hefty attorney fees.
âThey are very supportive of me. I do not know the details yet because I just got home today, and my family is working.
âThis was my first time in cuffs and hopefully my last time.â
As for his co-defendants, Drummond says they are petrified of the legal battle ahead.
âThey are just as worried as me, we are going to do our best and just stay strong and handle whatever consequences may come from this in the best way possible.â
Desperate Measures or More to Come?
But the vandal says he canât sit back and watch the potential controversy unfold without diving headfirst into the situation.
âI was born in Tampa so in a sense I donât like seeing that kind of controversy in the city I was born in.
âI believe in reallocating the funds our police receive to different areas like our schools.â
When Drummond was asked if he believed the mural would be vandalized again, the hooligan said not many have the guts to do what his group of lawbreakers did.
âI think that itâs going to spark a passion in some people who are against the Blue Lives Matter movement, but I cannot determine [whether] other people will do what we did.
âAgain, itâd be great if everyone went about protests the legal way and I had poor judgement last night.â