Martinez police seek arrest of two White people for vandalizing BLM Mural

Martinez police have sought the arrest of two white people after a video clip on Saturday July 4, 2020, showed the two people using black paint to cover up a Black Lives Matter mural in Martinez, Calif.

It was gathered that the mural, which was vandalized by the couple, was painted after the artists were granted permission to create the mural on the street outside the Contra Costa County courthouse.

A Martinez resident, Tatiana Ray, told the news outlet that the paint was still fresh when the two vandals painted over the yellow letters of the mural about an hour after it was created.

"I think that this is an indication of how much power white supremacy actually has. The fact that even having something on the street for one hour, they couldn't even tolerate that.

"You know, it was such a threat to have anybody else's concerns represented by the city and represented by the community,” Tatiana Ray said.

A viral video captured the pair, a woman painting over the letters and a man standing with her, shouting to onlookers that “all lives matter.”

After the police were alerted, the two vandals fled.

"It appeared that the couple came to the mural with cans of paint and a roller with the specific purpose of vandalizing over the mural," the Martinez Police Department stated.

In June, Washington, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser commissioned a similar BLM mural that spans two blocks on a street that leads to the White House.

It was created at the height of nationwide protests in the wake of the police killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. In the weeks since, dozens of American cities have replicated the murals on their own streets.