Police nab pro-Trump graffiti artist with fake wall
Message emblazoned on beams in the mezzanine of the station had sparked a slew of complaints.
NEW YORK (AFP) - President Donald Trump has struggled to convince lawmakers the US needs a wall along its southern border. But in New York, police heeded his advice to catch a pro-Trump graffiti artist: yes, they built a wall.
Transit Chief Edward Delatorre told journalists Tuesday that officers put up the fake wall to catch the tagger spraying "#LoveTrump" in a subway station in the city’s Brooklyn borough.
The recurring message emblazoned on beams in the mezzanine of the station had sparked a slew of complaints since January from both passengers and transportation employees at the station, Delatorre said.
Officers plotted with New York’s transit authority to put up a plywood wall with a door, which officers hid in for a plainclothes operation starting on March 12.
Three days later, the vandal took the bait. Police identified him as Jamie Montemarano, 43, and charged him for graffiti and criminal mischief.
