Redwood City Officials Stand By BLM Mural's Removal: Report

REDWOOD CITY, CA — Redwood City officials defended the city’s decision to remove a Black Lives Matter mural painted earlier this month at a remote city council meeting Monday, The San Mateo Daily Journal reports.

The bright yellow mural was painted during a Fourth of July art celebration near Courthouse Square on Broadway by local resident Daniel Pease, The Sacramento Bee reports.

The council ordered the mural's removal when Trump supporter Maria Rutenberg threatened to sue the city after her request to paint a "MAGA 2020" mural was declined, Climate Online reports.

The decision to remove a Black Lives Matter mural has roiled social justice activists who launched an online petition protesting its removal.

But City Manager Melissa Stevenson Diaz said the mural was intended to be temporary according to The Daily Journal report.

“There was confusion about whether this was a temporary or permanent display, whether we’d be allowing art on the street on an ongoing basis and whether we were closing the street to vehicle traffic. As a result the painting was removed,” Stevenson Diaz said, according to the report.

“We’ve heard from many in our community regarding the painting. Some individuals really appreciated it and are unhappy that it was removed. Others shared their disappointment that it was printed in the first place and [the city was] told they are glad that it was removed.”

Read more in The San Mateo Daily Journal.