Democrat Mayor Spends $270k On BLM Mural While Crime Skyrockets

Washington D.C.’s Democrat Mayor Bowser is under fire after spending over $270k on a Black Lives Matter mural while crime continues to rise in the capital city.

Crime has become rampant in D.C., with homicides rising nearly 40% while crimes like motor theft and arson are up 93% and 125%, respectively.

Talk about skewed priorities ! DC mayor spends over three quarters of a million dollars repainting the BLM mural when DC is running rampant with crime & homelessness ! Shouldn't it be illegal to spend taxpayer $$$ on a one sided political view !? https://t.co/zVSi0y69Zl #FoxNews

— 🇺🇸 USAF PATRIOT 🇺🇸 (@TOMRJZSR) November 29, 2023

The folks at Fox News share more on the story:

The Washington, D.C., government dropped hundreds of thousands of dollars touching up its “Black Lives Matter” street painting as crime skyrockets in the Democrat-run city.

The refurbishment of the infamous mural, which Democrat Mayor Muriel Bowser initially painted in June 2020 as BLM protests were underway in the city and across the country, appears to have run taxpayers $271,231, including $217,680 in labor costs and $53,551 in paint supplies, according to documents obtained by Judicial Watch from D.C.’s Department of Transportation.

“DC crime is out of control but local leaders continue to waste $270,000 in tax money promoting the extremist Black Lives Matter movement in the heart of Washington DC that is racist, anti-police, anti-American, and often violent,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said in a statement.

According to the documents, the city contracted with D.C.-based vendor Equus Striping on the project. The company posted videos on its Facebook page showing its team “making progress on prepping the surface” of the BLM mural on Nov. 8 and shared the completed project the following day.

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“As a black and women owned DC business, we couldn’t be prouder of our crew. A lot of elbow grease went into this project and we are incredibly happy with how it turned out,” the vendor wrote. “Thanks for Helping us Change the World, One Line at a Time.”

The D.C. government doled out the cash to repaint the mural after slashing its police budget by millions since 2020. The city also has 400 fewer officers than three years ago, according to multiple reports.

Meanwhile, the nation’s capital has experienced soaring crime rates as its leaders have attempted to alleviate anxiety. Democrat D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson told the House Committee on Oversight in late March that while there are significant concerns regarding crime, residents should not worry.

This is what happens when we live in the age of virtue signaling.

Politicians are more concerned with demonstrating their support for movements instead of taking real action against the problems plaguing their constituents.

Our country, cities, and states will continue to fall deeper into ruin if this trend continues.

DC spends over $270,000 on BLM paint job as violent crime skyrockets https://t.co/1Qy4TCOot0

— Tom Fitton (@TomFitton) November 29, 2023

The Washington Examiner shares more on the story:

Those crimes come as millions in budget cuts have been made to the MPD since the 2020 riots inspired by George Floyd’s death, and police officers have been quitting the force in droves. The department lost 331 officers on average per year from 2018 to 2021, and it has roughly 400 fewer officers than it did three years ago.

While the Council of the District of Columbia approved a $526.1 million police budget for 2023, that number is a 1.7% decrease from last year but nearly $100 million less than the budget in 2020. While it is unclear where the cuts were made, the fiscal 2023 proposal cut millions from the Criminal Investigations Division and Narcotics and Special Investigations.

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In 2021, Mayor Muriel Bowser, who originally commissioned the street art in 2020, promised to spend $4.8 million to “transform” Black Lives Matter Plaza, with an additional $3 million to follow. According to a recent public records request from Judicial Watch, $271,231 was spent on materials and labor for repainting the letters.

One of the most prominent demands of the BLM movement is to “defund the police,” which the district has done to the consequence of rampant crime.

The sooner we do away with these political theatrics, the sooner our country will return to our former greatness.

And this isn’t a uniquely Democrat/liberal issue.

Republicans have plenty engaging in the same activities.

This is painfully obvious by the state of Congress.

Where Republicans and Democrats scream and shout at each other while no real action is done.