Denver pedestrians heard a jarring message over the weekend after two crosswalk speakers were tampered with and played an expletive-filled political statement targeting President Donald Trump , city officials said.
The two crosswalk push-buttons were hacked on East Colfax Avenue in Denver, Nancy Kuhn of Denver's Department of Transportation and Infrastructure confirmed to USA TODAY.
"The push-buttons were newly installed," she said. "Still bagged and with their factory settings. Hackers were able to find the default password online and briefly override the audio."
Videos of the incident circulated on social media. A TikTok posted Monday, March 16, shows what appears to be a city employee servicing a crosswalk speaker.
The speaker played the standard “walk signal is on” prompt, then switched to a profane message accusing Trump of civilian deaths, according to the video.
The message did not reference specific civilian fatalities. The hack comes afte r a recent strike on an all-girl's school in Iran. Reuters reported on March 5 that U.S. military investigators believe it is likely that U.S. forces were responsible but have not yet reached a final conclusion or completed their investigation. The Pentagon has since elevated the probe.
A statue depicting President Donald Trump and deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein embracing in the iconic “Titanic” pose by Jack and Rose, two of the movie's characters, appeared on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The artwork is titled “The King of the World,” a reference to the scene in which Jack, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, shouts: “I’m king of the world.” The 12-foot statue was unveiled in front of the U.S. Capitol by The Secret Handshake group, a small organization of citizens using art and humor to prompt political discourse. The same group was also responsible for the statue of Trump and Epstein holding hands titled "Best Friends Forever" that appeared on the National Mall in September.
Denver officials have never seen a hacking incident involving crosswalks before, Kuhn said on March 17.
"It’s one that we’ll address in our procedures moving forward," Kuhn added.
In another video shared to Instagram and later X , someone could be heard saying “It’s amazing” in reaction to the altered audio.
As clips of the anti-Trump messaging in Denver spread online, some commenters applauded the people or person responsible for the recording.
“Whoever is behind this…is an American hero,” one user wrote. “I fully support this type of protest.”
Another commentator described the act as “the kind of vandalism that I can get behind!”
But not everyone celebrated the hacker’s work. Some Twitter users called Colorado, where the crosswalks were hacked, a “liberal nightmare.”
Other users said whoever is responsible “should pay for tampering with City property.”
More hackers: Hacker hijacks airport PA system to play anti-Trump message
The Denver incident is not the first time public audio systems have been altered to broadcast political messages. In mid‑October, a similar incident occurred at Harrisburg International Airport in south‑central Pennsylvania, where a message played over the airport’s public address system.
The audio included a statement identifying a “Turkish hacker,” along with pro‑Palestinian slogans and profanities directed at Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu , according to a post shared on X. The message reportedly looped for 10 minutes before the airport's IT department unplugged the system.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said at the time the airport incident was “absolutely unacceptable” and frightened travelers. He said the federal government was working with Harrisburg International Airport and the Federal Aviation Administration to investigate what happened.
Regarding the Colorado crosswalk incident, USA TODAY has reached out to the Denver District Attorney’s Office for more information, including whether the office is pursuing criminal charges. USA TODAY has also reached out to the White House for .
Contributing: Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, Francesca Chambers, and Kathleen Wong USA TODAY
Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY’s trending team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757. Email her at sdmartin@usatoday.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hacker takes over Denver crosswalk system to protest Trump, Iran war
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