Two white residents of Martinez, California, who painted over a Black Lives Matter mural, have been charged with a hate crime.
The Contra Costa County District Attorney’s office released a statement Tuesday announcing the charges against Nichole Anderson, 42, and David Nelson, 53.
Anderson was caught on video Saturday painting over an approved Black Lives Matter street mural while Nelson argued with onlookers and brought her more paint. Nelson was wearing a Make America Great Again hat and said to bystanders, “No one wants Black Lives Matter here.”
“We’re sick of this narrative,” he added. “The narrative of police brutality, the narrative of oppression, the narrative of racism. It’s a lie. It’s a lie.”
Both Anderson and Nelson were hit with three separate charges, including violation of civil rights, vandalism under $400, and possession of tools to commit vandalism or graffiti. If convicted, they could face up to a year in prison.
“The community spent a considerable amount of time putting the mural together only to have it painted over in a hateful and senseless manner,” Martinez Police Chief Manjit Sappal said in a statement. “The city of Martinez values tolerance, and the damage to the mural was divisive and hurtful.”
The mural is similar to the one displayed in Washington, D.C., on a street leading to the White House.
Race has been at the center of the national conversation for the past several weeks after the death of George Floyd set off a series of protests. Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, died in Minneapolis police custody in May after a white officer knelt on his neck for several minutes. Activists and others have pointed to the incident as an example of police brutality and systemic racism.
