Duo seen in video painting over BLM mural face hate crime charges, CA officials say
A man and woman seen on video painting over a Black Lives Matter mural Saturday in California have been charged with hate crimes, the district attorney’s office says.
Nicole Anderson, 42, and David Nelson, 53, face charges including violation of civil rights, vandalism and possessing tools to commit vandalism, the Contra Costa County district attorney’s office says in a news release.
A video posted to YouTube shows Anderson dump black paint on the yellow Black Lives Matter mural painted on the street and begin rolling the paint over the letters.
Nelson, wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat and a “four more years” t-shirt promoting the re-election of President Donald Trump, tells passers-by that “racism is a lie,” the video shows. He also says the mural itself is racist.
“We’re sick of this narrative,” Nelson says, the video shows. “That’s the problem. The narrative of police brutality, the narrative of oppression, the narrative of racism. It’s a lie. No one wants Black Lives Matter here.”
The city approved the mural outside Wakefield Taylor Courthouse in Martinez, part of the San Francisco Bay Area, in advance, The Mercury News reported.
“Approval of the use of our streets sends a message to all that African Americans and other people of color are equal members of our community and hateful rhetoric will be actively rejected by our city,” said Mayor Rob Schroder in a statement, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
The city approved the mural at the request of residents following the discovery of anti-Black Lives Matter fliers in Martinez in June, according to the publication.
Residents painted the mural Saturday morning, just hours before Nelson and Anderson tried to cover it up, District Attorney Diana Becton wrote in her release on the hate crime charges.
“The mural completed last weekend was a peaceful and powerful way to communicate the importance of Black lives in Contra Costa County and the country,” Becton said. “We must continue to elevate discussions and actually listen to one another in an effort to heal our community and country.”
Nelson and Anderson could face up to a year in jail if convicted, KPIX reported.
The temporary street mural has since been repaired, KRON reported.
On Sunday night, police arrested Joseph Osuna, 30, of Martinez on suspicion of brandishing a firearm during an altercation at the mural, KNTV reported.
Osuna shouted “all lives matter” from a passing vehicle, then brandished a pistol when people near the mural confronted him, according to the station. Police pulled the vehicle over a short distance away and arrested him.
Someone painted “White Lives Matter” in white paint on a Martinez street a few blocks from the Black Lives Matter mural Monday night or Tuesday morning, KGO reported. The city covered up the unauthorized graffiti.
“And, yes, all lives matter, but until we stop getting killed in the streets and slaughtered, this whole humanity won’t matter,” said Henry Williams, according to the station.
This story was originally published July 8, 2020 at 2:19 PM with the headline "Duo seen in video painting over BLM mural face hate crime charges, CA officials say."