The Contra Costa County D.A.’s office has charged a couple captured on video who tried to paint over a massive Black Lives Mural that had been painted less than an hour earlier on a street in Martinez, California.
The couple was identified and Nicole Anderson, 42, and David Nelson, 53, both of Martinez. They are each charged with Violation of Civil Rights (a hate crime), Vandalism Under $400, and Possession of Tools to Commit Vandalism or Graffiti. Each faces up to a year in county jail.
Said Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton: ”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. 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.”
“We’re sick of this narrative. That’s what’s wrong,” said Nelson in the viral video, responding to onlookers. “The narrative of police brutality. The narrative of oppression. The narrative of racism. It’s a lie. There is no oppression. There is no racism. It’s a leftist lie. It’s a lie from the media, the liberal left.”
“This is racism. You are the idiot in this situation,” an onlooker told him.
“Keep this sh*t in f**king New York. This doesn’t happen in my town,” screeched Anderson as she struggled to cover the letters with a paint roller.
“Don’t you have something better to do, Becky?” said an onlooker.
“F**king Keep America Great Again that’s right,” said Nelson, responding to onlookers. “Why don’t you guys learn about history. The emancipation proclamation act. Yeah, that’s right, Abraham Lincoln. You’re only free because of our forefathers.”
