Washington, D.C., spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxpayer funding to refresh the mural that reads “Black Lives Matter” across multiple city blocks.
The fresh paint job at what is officially called Black Lives Matter Plaza cost taxpayers $270,000, Daily Fetched reported, despite a violent crime wave that is seeing a stark increase in robberies.
D.C. Metropolitan Police data shows that crime increased nearly across the board in 2023. Homicide increased by 61 incidents through November 2023 compared to all of 2022, a 32% increase.
Robberies saw a shocking 69% increase, which brought the entire category of violent crime up by 40% year over year. There was an increase of more than 1,400 violent crimes in total.
That’s not all, however. Motor vehicle theft nearly doubled in the nation’s capital, with a staggering 93% increase. While a 125% increase in arson represents a very small change (four incidents to nine incidents), vehicle theft is a dramatic rise from 3,302 to 6,362.
The category of “Theft (Other)” also increased by 23%, bringing all property crime up by 25%.
In total, all crime in the city is up by 27%.
Officially, the BLM mural was “donated” by Mayor Muriel Bowser in 2020 and spans two city blocks with 50-foot-tall letters, in yellow and all caps.
The story behind the mural is described by the city as being inspired by “nationwide protests against police brutality, spurred on by the deaths of George Floyd in Minneapolis and Breonna Taylor in Louisville.”
There is no mention of the violence or death that took place during the riots of 2020, however. Instead, the city’s guide referred to June 1, 2020, when “peaceful demonstrators – many of whom were from DC” were “met with violence and tear gas by federal forces between Lafayette Park and St. John’s Church.”
Disturbingly, this ignores the fact that the famous church was set on fire during those protests. As well, Secret Service members were injured during the riots, which later required a curfew to be put in place and the National Guard be called in.
On the third day of protests, rioters also smashed the plate-glass window of a trade union building and started a fire in the lobby.
Just days later, the official story continued, the BLM mural was unveiled, and the mayor announced that 16 Street NW would be renamed Black Lives Matter Plaza.
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