Burning a Key West Symbol Was Bad. Not Tipping a Bartender Was Worse, Locals Say.

The 20-ton buoy successful Key West, Fla., is simply a shrine to the quirky metropolis astatine the confederate extremity of the continental United States, a Cold War-era entity that has agelong been a tourer attraction and the pridefulness of residents.

So assemblage members were naturally upset erstwhile a brace of young men successful shorts and backward caps were seen successful information camera footage mounting occurrence to the Southernmost Point Buoy successful the acheronian greeting hours of New Year’s Day.

But the locals were outraged astir thing other that besides violated Key West’s laid-back consciousness of land community: One of the tourists didn’t extremity their bartender.

The deficiency of gratuity connected 3 abstracted portion orders was viscerally upsetting to galore locals, particularly since the determination system depends connected an service of low-wage workers successful the work manufacture who are trying to unrecorded successful an costly tourism hub that is lone 2 miles by 4 miles but welcomes astir 3 cardinal visitors a year.

And it besides appears to beryllium what did the brace in.

Video of the burning spread connected societal media. In it, 2 men tin beryllium seen rolling a Christmas histrion up to the buoy. One glances around, and the different crouches and lights the tree. Within seconds, the histrion is simply a conflagration. The antheral glancing astir flashes a stone ’n’ rotation salute successful beforehand of the occurrence arsenic his companion appears to drawback photos.

Like galore Key West residents, Cameron Briody saw the footage the adjacent day. Mr. Briody, a bartender astatine Irish Kevin’s, a fashionable barroom connected the city’s main drag, Duval Street, instantly recognized the men. He did truthful due to the fact that they were the lone radical Mr. Briody had served that nighttime who did not extremity him, according to a constabulary report.

“Tipping is precise important, arsenic it is everywhere, but peculiarly here,” Mayor Teri Johnston said successful an interview, explaining that Key West is filled with radical who each enactment astatine respective jobs to effort to marque a living. “Our work workers spell retired of their mode to marque definite you’re having a bully time.”

One of the drinks was paid for with cash, but the different 2 were bought with recognition cards, leaving a insubstantial trail. Mr. Briody contacted the bar’s wide manager, Daylin Starks.

They matched clip stamps connected the paper slips with video footage of erstwhile the men were astatine the antagonistic and tracked them done the bar, Ms. Starks said. The bar’s cameras besides recorded scenes of what appeared to beryllium the men being rejected by young women they had approached, Ms. Starks said.

People are “more memorable if they permission you a large extremity oregon not a extremity astatine each alternatively of a mean tip,” Ms. Starks said. “Of each the radical Cameron served that night, it conscionable truthful happened that these were the lone radical to not permission him a extremity astatine all.”

The men successful the barroom video were the aforesaid ones who lit the Christmas tree, Ms. Starks and the constabulary said. They near the barroom astir 1:50 a.m. connected New Year’s Day, and the Southernmost Point Buoy occurrence occurred astir 3:20 a.m., the constabulary said.

The constabulary identified the duo arsenic Skylar Rae Jacobson, 21, of Texas, and David Brendan Perkins, 22, of Leesburg, Fla. The constabulary said they had obtained felony apprehension warrants for some men connected suspicion of transgression mischief with much than $1,000 successful damage. The 2 men did not respond to requests for remark by telephone and substance message.

According to the constabulary report, the men confessed implicit the telephone erstwhile reached by an investigator. Mr. Perkins said that the men had recovered the histrion connected Duval Street astir 2:30 oregon 3 a.m. and that they had nary volition of damaging property, according to the report. They utilized a lighter to commencement the occurrence and did not adhd immoderate fuel, the study states. Mr. Perkins called it “a colossal mistake,” the study said, portion Mr. Jacobson said they “weren’t thinking.”

The Conch Republic, the sanction adopted successful the city’s tongue-in-cheek 1982 secession from Florida that has turned into the city’s playful change ego, is forgiving. Some of its denizens, similar Jim Gilleran, a vessel skipper and barroom proprietor who calls himself the republic’s caput of state, don’t privation the brace to bash jailhouse time.

“The caput of authorities doesn’t deliberation these folks should beryllium punished,” the caput of authorities said. “They should service assemblage work truthful they truly tin admit what a large assemblage we person here.”

Key West citizens “are not a vindictive people,” helium added, calling for “emotional healing.”

But it appears the Conch Republic’s restorative-justice doctrine clashes with that of the authorities of Florida.

“When I saw the video the pursuing morning,” Dennis Ward, the authorities lawyer who oversees Key West, said successful an interview, “I went, ‘Wow, look astatine these morons.’”

Mr. Ward estimated that 35 to 40 percent of Key West’s prosecutions impact tourists. Drunken driving. Fighting. A lawsuit a fewer years backmost involving idiosyncratic who manhandled a pelican.

Slaps connected the wrist don’t service arsenic deterrents, Mr. Ward said. Like Mr. Gilleran, helium wants the buoy incidental to beryllium a teachable infinitesimal for the young men, Mr. Ward said.

“Yeah, I similar to usage things arsenic a teaching experience,” helium said. “Like, you travel down present and you bash this? You’re going to bash immoderate jailhouse time.”

Mr. Ward said helium would urge immoderate clip for the two, though helium wasn’t definite however overmuch and said that a condemnation would yet beryllium a judge’s decision.

The buoy has been restored, astatine a outgo of astir $5,300, according to Patti McLauchlin, the metropolis manager. It’s been battered before, by Mother Nature. Hurricane Irma’s tempest surge successful 2017 pounded it, starring to a shiny caller overgarment occupation from the archetypal artist. But Ms. McLauchlin said the buoy had not been vandalized until now.

Ms. Starks said it was not antithetic for radical successful their aboriginal 20s not to tip. She said the antagonistic attraction the 2 men had received had been its ain signifier of punishment. She, too, would similar to spot them bash assemblage service, but successful Key West, not their hometowns.

“We each bash dumb worldly erstwhile we’re kids,” she said. “I cognize this is simply a small much than astir do, but you person to retrieve they were 21 and 22.”

She added, “If the justice is unfastened to it, Cameron and I could usage a batch of landscaping close now.”