Video shows man dump paint on Black Lives Matter mural at Trump Tower
Look what I just witnessed! Ran like a big coward! Very sad! 🤬#nyc #abc7ny pic.twitter.com/3SdzPkslXh
— Oscar Vela (@OscarVelaNYC) July 13, 2020
This is the vandal who dumped red paint on a section of the Black Lives Matter mural in front of Trump Tower.
Witness Oscar Vela tweeted video Monday that shows the man stroll up to the mural with a can of red paint and dump it over the letter “V” in the word “Lives.”
As the man, wearing dark clothing, a black cap and a face mask, runs away, an onlooker can be heard saying, “What’s your name?” and “Run, bastard, run!”
Police said the man dumped the paint around 12:13 p.m., then fled on East 56th Street.
The blotch of paint was smeared over the rest of the mural by passing cars.
The mural, announced and trumpeted by Mayor Bill de Blasio earlier this month, has already become a flashpoint for face-offs between pro- and anti-Trump forces — including an ugly back-and-forth on Saturday.
“To whoever vandalized our mural on 5th Avenue: nice try @NYC DOT has already fixed it,” the mayor tweeted Monday evening.