NEW YORK – The Black Lives Matter street art that was painted in front of the Trump Tower was found smashed on Monday afternoon.
The New York Police Department closed the section of the street that contained the mural while city crews were seen painting over the red paint and restoring the screen.
New York City teams clean up splattered red paint on BLM mural on 5th Avenue
Credit: Kerry Picket / The Washington Examiner
Authorities are looking for a suspect who threw red paint on the mural and was seen fleeing west on 56th Street, according to police. Police are investigating the incident as a criminal mischief.
The mural, painted last Thursday for several hours by BLM activists, Mayor Bill de Blasio, First Lady Chirlane McCray and the Rev. Al Sharpton, angered President Trump who tweeted about the mural:
“NYC is slashing Police $ ‘s for A BILLION DOLLARS, and yet @NYCMayor is going to paint a large, expensive, yellow Black Lives Matter sign on Fifth Avenue, denigrating this luxurious Avenue.”
He added: “This will further antagonize New York’s best, who LOVE New York and vividly remember BLM’s awful chant, ‘Pigs in a blanket, fry them like bacon.’ Perhaps our GREAT cop, who has been neutralized and scorned by a mayor who hates and disrespects them, he will not let this hate symbol stick to New York’s biggest street. Spend this money fighting crime! “
