Two church leaders were arrested Friday night outside the Carter G. Woodson African American Museum in St. Petersburg as state workers began removing street murals across the Tampa Bay area.
Police say Andy Oliver, 45, and Benedict Atherton-Zeman, 59, were taken into custody after they sat on the road in front of the museum in an apparent attempt to block Florida Department of Transportation workers from removing the museum's Black History Matters mural.
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Oliver is pastor of the Allendale United Methodist Church in St. Petersburg. Atherton-Zeman is a minister at the Unitarian Universalist Church of St. Petersburg.
Police say they arrested the men after 8 p.m. after repeated warnings to move.
Jail records show they were arrested on a charge of obstruction and released early Saturday morning on $500 bail.
Shortly after being released, Oliver posted a note on his Facebook account that said, "Black history still matters… if you look hard at the picture, you can see that even Ron’s paint couldn’t fully hide that truth.
Carter G. Woodson’s words echo to us in this moment: “Let us banish fear… I am a radical. I am ready to act, if I can find brave [people] to help me.”"
Earlier Friday, state officials began painting over a geographic and marine-themed mural that has graced one of the main intersections on the University of South Florida St. Petersburg campus for more than two years.
Murals across the state — including the rainbow-colored crosswalk to honor the victims of the Pride nightclub shooting— are being removed after the state's Department of Transportation called them a safety issue, and Gov. Ron DeSantis said streets should not be used for political or ideological messages.
DeSantis ordered that the murals be removed by Sept. 4.
This is a developing story. Stay with WUSF for updates.
