The destruction of Black Lives Matter murals painted on streets in the five boroughs shows no signs of slowing down after two more locations were vandalized overnight, and police believe it was the same woman who defaced the mural outside Trump Tower on Saturday afternoon.
Murals painted last month on streets in Harlem and Bedford-Stuyvesant were smeared with black paint overnight, just hours after two women vandalized the paint in front of Trump Tower in Midtown. It was the third time in a week the 5th Avenue mural was hit by paint vandals.
The NYPD believes a 29-year-old woman is behind the three separate attempts to destroy Black Lives Matter murals in a roughly 10-hour period.
According to police and video posted to her personal Facebook account, Bevelyn Beatty smeared paint across the Harlem mural at Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard between 125th Street and 127th Street, and the Bedford-Stuyvesant mural at Fulton Street and Marcy Avenue around midnight.
Beatty appeared to livestream her actions in the middle of the night. With the assistance of two other people, she appeared to dump several cans of black paint onto the murals and used paint rollers to spread it out.
"We're taking our county back," she said in video posted to her Facebook. "The police need our help, they can't stand alone. Don't just sit by idly and watch your country go to the ground. Stand with your police force. Vote for Trump, vote Republican, vote for Christians."
Several people near Fulton Street confronted the group, recording the destruction and calling on the vandals to stop, eventually driving them away.
Reggie Swiney came out Sunday morning to see the Brooklyn mural he helped paint last month.
"You should pay for it," he said. "I'd like to know why they're doing it."
News
Swiney stayed to repaint the mural and repair the damage caused overnight. "This is how we wipe away hate," he told News 4.
Police officials say the Midtown mural was vandalized a second time Saturday when a man from Hempstead threw black paint on the roadway just before 6 p.m.
According to officials, Wesley Davis was charged with criminal mischief after attempting to ruin the mural in what appears to be the fourth incident in a week's time.
Beatty and a second accomplice allegedly smeared black paint on the Midtown mural Saturday afternoon, damaging it after crews freshly repaired the mural after Friday's attack. An NYPD officer attempting to arrest one of the women defacing the mural slipped in the paint and appeared to sustain minor injuries.
A coordinated effort involving about 10 people targeted the mural with blue paint around 4 p.m. Friday. There were plans going around on social media with a group of people discussing pulling off the stunt.
One of those arrested, a woman wearing a rainbow flag as a cape and a shirt that read "All Lives Matter," was put into custody, smirking when asked why she did it. She was seen on video dumping a can of paint while running along the length of the mural, with another woman joining her, and then putting handprints into the spilled paint.
The second woman later spoke with NBC New York, saying that it should read "All Lives Matter" and that using taxpayer money for it was wrong. One of the people taken into custody appeared to be the same woman who talked with News 4 just a week ago, and vowed at that time that she would come back to deface the mural.
Two women — 39-year-old Juliet Germanotta and 25-year-old D'Anna Morgan — were arrested, along with 44-year-old Luis Martinez. All three NYC residents were charged with criminal mischief, and released with a desk appearance ticket. A 64-year-old woman was also issued a criminal court summons for illegally posting flyers.
On Monday, the mural -- a project President Donald Trump blasted as a "symbol of hate" -- was defaced with a large splash of red paint.
One video, obtained by News 4, shows a person dressed in dark colors and a hat, dump a single can of paint across the mural before running away; the NYPD is investigating and on Friday released surveillance images of the suspect, hoping someone will recognize him.
Overall, polls have shown a majority of Americans supporting Black Lives Matter since recent protests against racial injustice began.
