ORLANDO, Fla. – Law enforcement officers had to clear the area around the Pulse memorial in Orlando Monday because an unknown package was found on the property.
It turned out to be a box of chalk.
News 6’s Orange County community correspondent Mike Valente was reporting on activists who were continuing to color in the crosswalk next to the site of the 2016 mass shooting when he noticed the package.
The Walmart box was taped up and addressed to the site.
Activists didn’t know where the box came from and called the police non-emergency line.
Officers set up a perimeter around the Pulse site while they investigated.
It turned out the package contained a 120-piece box of colored sidewalk chalk.
It’s the latest development in a days-long protest, ever since state transportation workers painted over the rainbow crosswalk as part of a crackdown on crosswalk art happening around Florida and around the country by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
[WATCH: Rainbow crosswalk near Pulse removed overnight]
Since then, residents have colored in the sidewalk with chalk in defiance of state officials several times, and state transportation workers have painted the crosswalk over at least three times now.
One man we spoke to, who would not give his name, said he was committed to showing up every day if necessary.
“I’m not a member of the gay community, I’m not a member of the Puerto Rican community, but I’m a member of the Orlando community and I want to help show that they’re not alone and we’re all in this together,” he said.
Law enforcement officers, including Florida Highway Patrol and Orlando Police Department, have been posted to the crosswalk to try to deter the activists.
[WATCH: Rainbow crosswalk repainted outside Pulse; Florida troopers seen standing by]
“People are upset and they’re saying, ‘Enough is enough,’” said protester James Houchins. “Not only is it a crosswalk, but it’s part of the memorial.”
On Monday, a spokesperson for the Florida Department of Transportation sent this statement to News 6:
“Vandalizing state property and/or disrupting traffic in any way is unsafe and illegal. These illegal actions will not be tolerated and will be fully enforced by law enforcement.
“The crosswalk at Orange Avenue and Esther Street is within state right of way. Therefore, FDOT has brought the pavement at this location and numerous others on state-maintained roadways into compliance with the law.”
FDOT approved the rainbow crosswalk across Esther Street in 2017, in honor of the 49 people who lost their lives in the attack, and the hundreds who came to the site to pay their respects in the weeks and months after.
But earlier this year, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy issued a directive that all crosswalk art across the country be painted over, calling it a safety hazard.