Two women have been arrested after defacing the Black Lives Matter mural outside New York City’s Trump Tower.
Over the course of the past week, the yellow mural – exactly like the art painted on streets all across the US – has become a hot spot for vandalism, attracting the ire of critics armed with buckets with paint.
The latest incident, taking place on Saturday, July 18, saw two women from Staten Island, aged 39 and 29, being taken into custody after pouring black paint across the mural and trying to smear it over the letters. In a video, one of the women can be heard shouting ‘refund the police’ as officers try to pull her away.
You can watch footage from the woman’s arrest in the video below:
The woman in the video, who hasn’t been identified, continued to yell: ‘They’re liars! They say they care about Black lives, they’re saying to defund the police… they don’t care! They don’t care about Black people! We’re killing each other left and right! Black Lives Matters – liars!’
An officer was injured in the arrest after slipping on the wet paint, hurting his head and arm. He was taken to Bellevue Hospital where he was said to be in a stable condition, the New York Post reports.
While further information regarding the women hasn’t been made available, CNN reports they’ve both been charged with criminal mischief and released with an order to appear at court on a later date.
The city’s largest police union, the Police Benevolent Association, tweeted following the incident: ‘Thankfully our brother will be OK, but this nonsense needs to stop. Our city is in crisis. Paint on the street helps no one.’
Yesterday’s vandalism came less than 24 hours after another incident, in which three people were charged with criminal mischief after smearing blue paint on the same mural. Upon arrest, they were all reportedly wearing ‘All Lives Matter’ apparel and Trump merchandise.
One member of the trio, a 64-year-old woman, was also issued a court summons for illegally posting flyers referencing the recent Brooklyn shooting of one-year-old Davell Gardner Jr., with a picture and the words: ‘DID MY LIFE MATTER?’ Police have yet to make any arrests in connection with the July 11 shooting.
Police are also still on the hunt for a vandal who was seen pouring red paint across the Trump Tower mural on Monday, July 13. He was said to be wearing black shorts and dark blue t-shirt.
If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and wish to speak to someone in confidence, contact Stop Hate UK by visiting their website www.stophateuk.org/talk
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Topics: News, Black Lives Matter, Mural, new york city, Now, US, vandalism
Credits
The New York Post and 2 others- Black Lives Matter co-founder's cousin dies after police tasered him following car accident
- Vandal Splatters Paint Over Black Lives Matter Mural Outside Trump Tower
- Man Arrested For Defacing Black Lives Matter Mural Outside Trump Tower
- Trump Supporters Paint Over Black Lives Matter Mural Approved By City
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