Police have now charged two California residents with a hate crime, after they were caught on camera defacing a #BlackLivesMatter mural, in front of the Martinez courthouse.
On Tuesday, Forty-two-year-old Nicole Anderson and 53-year-old David Nelson were arrested. The two are now facing charges of violating civil rights, vandalism under $400 and possession of tools to commit vandalism or graffiti, according to @Fox40. If convicted, the pair faces up to a year in jail.
“We must address the root and byproduct of systemic racism in our country. The Black Lives Matter movement is an important civil rights cause that deserves all of our attention,” stated Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton.
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“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. We must continue to elevate discussions and actually listen to one another in an effort to heal our community and country.”
The Black Lives Matter mural was approved, after a resident applied for a permit on July 1st to paint the Black Lives Matter mural in front of the Wakefield Taylor Courthouse.
The alleged hate crime charges are exempt from a specific bail amount because of the modified county bail schedule due to the #COVID19 pandemic, according to @kpixtv.
As previously reported, the pair was confronted and filmed, while painting over Black Lives Matter, in a now viral video.
