New York City’s Black Lives Matter mural outside Trump Tower was vandalized for the second time in 24 hours on Saturday, and the third time in the last week.
Two women were arrested on Saturday afternoon after vandalizing the mural. The suspects, Edmee Chavannes, 39, and Bevelyn Beatty, 29, were taken into custody and charged with criminal mischief, the NYPD told NBC news in an email. The women, both of Staten Island, tried to cover the yellow message with black paint, which had just been repainted after being vandalized on Friday.
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Video of the incident, posted on Instagram by the Police Benevolent Association of New York City, shows the police attempting to arrest one of the women as she smeared black paint across the mural. The woman is heard on the video repeatedly screaming “Refund the police” and “Jesus matters.”
One officer attempting to stop the suspect slipped in the black paint, falling down. Video shows the officer, covered in paint, laying on the ground on his side, curling his legs up to his chest.
“Thankfully our brother will be OK,” the police union said of the officer who slipped in paint.
On Friday, three people were arrested and a fourth was issued a summons for vandalism after blue paint was splashed on the Fifth Avenue mural.
On Monday, a man dumped red paint on part of the mural before running away. The NYPD released photos of that man and say he is wanted for criminal mischief.
The Black Lives Matter mural, supported by and partially painted by Mayor Bill de Blasio, was installed after protests followed the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25.
President Trump called the mural outside his tower a “symbol of hate,” saying it would be “denigrating” to what he called a luxury avenue.
