On Friday, July 3, people in Provo, Utah, came together to restore a 75-foot Pride mural on Center Street, which had been defaced with gray paint on June 28 — the anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall uprising.

Owners of theFINDlab’s Analog Community Center, a creative hub at 187 W. Center St. in Provo, announced on social media that the mural “was vandalized with what appears to be a bug sprayer full of paint.” The post noted the significance of the date: on June 28, 1969, police raided the Stonewall Inn, a Greenwich Village gay bar, at a time when New York law barred serving alcohol to gay patrons and allowed bars to be shut down for serving or employing LGBTQ+ people. That night, patrons resisted arrest rather than dispersing, touching off a six-day uprising that ended July 3 — an event widely credited with launching the modern Pride movement.

In a video posted by theFINDlab, owner Jonathan Canlas described the vandalism and what the mural means to his family.

“On Sunday, the anniversary of the beginning of Stonewall, a gentleman decided to drive past our mural and add to it,” Canlas said. “This is an LGBTQ-friendly mural. I have six kids, of which five are along that wonderful spectrum, and we put this here as a very clear masthead to explain who we are, what we believe in, and what we stand for, which is inclusivity and a safe space for everyone.”

Footage shared by the lab shows a man wearing a hoodie spraying the mural indiscriminately with gray paint.

TheFINDlab urged restraint rather than retaliation and invited the community to help restore the artwork on Friday, July 3 — coincidentally, the same date the 1969 uprising ended.

“Please don’t take it upon yourself to harass the alleged vandal,” the lab wrote. “We have a case open with the Provo police and expect them to respond appropriately. This space is about bringing community together, not spreading more hate. Please comment, share your love, encouragement, and support for those affected. We hope to see you on Friday for the cleaning effort. Join us in showing that everyone is valid and welcome.”

Canlas commissioned Ruel Brown to paint the mural in 2024, when it was finished right before Pride month.

“It represents a lot of our clients, team members, family, and friends,” the FINDlab general manager, Noelle Reynolds, told FOX 13 News. “We just want a place where everyone feels welcome.”

Reynolds said she discovered the damage when she arrived at work Sunday to find the mural defaced end to end. “It was a little shocking, a little disappointing,” she said.

The vandalism struck a nerve in a county where many LGBTQ+ residents say visibility is already a struggle. Amber Jay, executive director of We Are Here Utah, an organization that partners with theFINDlab on community events, said that many people often dismiss the fact that Provo has an LGBTQ+ community.

“There definitely is a lot of expectation that we don’t have a vibrant queer community,” Jay said. “I felt a little bit like someone had come to my house and spray-painted on my mural.”

Despite the summer heat and a holiday weekend, volunteers gathered to scrub and repaint the mural to remove graffiti. Several passersby joined in on the spot, including Oliver Harris of Orem, who called the vandalism “super disrespectful.”

For Reynolds, the cleanup became its own statement.

“Their resilience is better shown than told, and I think that’s what we’re doing today,” Reynolds said. “That’s what we wanted to do with this mural, to show up for our community, and now we’re getting them to show up for us. So it means a lot.”

The Provo Police Department’s investigation remains open.