The Brief
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Two men were arrested after police said they tried to block FDOT crews from painting over the “Black History Matters” street mural in St. Petersburg.
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Officers said they warned both of them to move repeatedly, but they refused.
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This comes amid controversy surrounding FDOT’s order to remove street murals across the state.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Two men were arrested after police said they tried to block FDOT crews from painting over the “Black History Matters” street mural in St. Petersburg.
What we know
The St. Pete Police Department said crews with the Florida Department of Transportation arrived at 8 p.m. to paint over the street mural on 9th Avenue South, west of 22nd Street South.
RELATED: Gov. DeSantis doubles down on FDOT order to remove street murals
However, officials said Andrew Oliver, 45, and Benedict Atherton-Zeman, 59, walked by police officers and sat down in the road, on top of the mural. Officers said they were trying to block FDOT machinery.
Officers said they warned both of them to move repeatedly, but they refused. That’s when police arrested them, according to the department.
Oliver and Atherton-Zeman were arrested on two charges, including pedestrian obstructing or hindering traffic and obstruction.
Pictured: Black History Matters mural on 9th Avenue South, west of 22nd Street South.
FDOT orders removal of street murals
The backstory
Governor Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill 1662 into law in June. FDOT Secretary Jared Perdue described the bill as an effort to keep transportation facilities free and clear of political ideologies.
FDOT is ordering cities and counties to identify and potentially remove artwork on roadways that may violate state traffic control guidelines. State officials have said “non-standard surface markings” can cause distractions or misunderstandings on the road and jeopardize driver and pedestrian safety.
Local perspective
The city of St. Pete had requested to keep several pieces of artwork on its roadways, including a Pride mural, a USF campus mural and the “Black History Matters” mural outside the Woodson African American History Museum. The city had said crash data showed that certain street murals on its roadways aren’t a safety risk.
However, FDOT denied that request about a week ago.
READ: FDOT denies St. Pete’s request to keep several street murals on roadways
City officials said on Monday that they would be strategic and not reactionary regarding FDOT’s decision and encouraged residents to do the same.
“These murals are more than paint on pavement. They are expressions of our community identity and values,” St. Pete Mayor Ken Welch said during a news conference on Monday.
When FDOT told the city that the street murals had to be removed, Welch said the city pushed back, but FDOT threatened penalties that would have cost the city millions of dollars in state funding.
“As the mayor of our city, I will not risk these essential investments in a fight I don’t believe we can win,” Welch said. “That would be irresponsible leadership and detrimental to our city in the long run. But make no mistake, this is not the end of the story. Our response will be strategic, not reactionary.”
The other side
DeSantis responded to the outcry over FDOT’s order. The governor was in Tampa on Tuesday morning, where he and the FDOT secretary doubled down on the statewide order.
“We’re not doing the commandeering of the roads to put up messaging,” DeSantis said.
On Tuesday, at a transportation press conference, DeSantis said the move was a policy change by the state legislature.
“The roads are there for either pedestrians to cross or cars to go, and that’s what it’s going to be,” DeSantis said.
The Source
The information in this story was provided by the St. Petersburg Police Department as well as previous reporting on FDOT’s order to remove street murals across the state.
