Person Wearing ‘All Lives Matter’ Shirt Seen Vandalizing Black Lives Matter Mural Outside Trump Tower
Video showed a person wearing a shirt with the words “All Lives Matter” throwing blue paint on the Black Lives Matter mural outside Trump Tower in Manhattan, an incident that led to the arrest of two people.
As NBC New York reported, several people were caught on video in what appeared to be a protest, with two of them splashing blue paint on the mural. One person had a rainbow flag with the words “LGBT for Trump” draped around their neck while the other wore an “All Lives Matter” shirt, with the report noting that it appeared to be a coordinated protest.
Police who have been stationed outside of Trump Tower daily quickly dispersed the scene, arrested the two people who appeared to throw paint on the yellow mural.
“Three people, 25-year-old D’Anna Morgan, 39-year-old Juliet Germanotta and 44-year-old Luis Martinez were all arrested and charged with criminal mischief,” the report noted. “A 64-year-old woman was issued a criminal court summons for the illegal posting of flyers.”
The incident came just days after another man poured red paint on the mural, with the NYPD releasing images of the man this week in the hope that the public could help identify him. The mural was quickly repaired following the vandalism earlier in the week.
The Black Lives Matter mural itself has drawn pushback from President Donald Trump, who referred to it as a “symbol of hate” in a series of tweets and appeared to call on New York City police officers to put a stop to it.
“Maybe our GREAT Police, who have been neutralized and scorned by a mayor who hates & disrespects them, won’t let this symbol of hate be affixed to New York’s greatest street,” he wrote. “Spend this money fighting crime instead!”
Trump has been criticized for his response to the Black Lives Matter movement and calls for efforts to address racial injustices. As protests grew in the wake of George Floyd’s killing in Minneapolis, Trump took to Twitter in what appeared to be a call for U.S. military troops to shoot looters. He has also been criticized for his negative reaction to calls to remove statues of Confederate figures.
Even before the current protests, critics have called out Trump for his reaction to calls for an end to racial injustices, including the president’s call for NFL owners to fire players who take a knee during the national anthem in protest of police brutality against minorities.
