The government of the District of Columbia spent the money on a project to repaint the mural on a street near the White House, drawing criticism.
Officials in the District of Columbia spent more than $270,000 in taxpayer dollars on a project to repaint the 50-foot-tall “Black Lives Matter” slogan on a street near the White House, records obtained by the nonprofit Judicial Watch show.
The 25 pages of records obtained via a Freedom of Information Act request filed by Judicial Watch show that the total price tag for the job of repainting the yellow phrase and the D.C. crest came in at $271,231. Paint and supplies accounted for $53,551, while labor totaled $217,680.
A memorandum of negotiations included in the obtained documents shows that the project—which included repainting the sign and “pavement restoration”—called for a foreman, operator, laborer, carpenter, and mason. The equipment included a backhoe/loader, portable air compressor, Bobcat, dump truck, pick-up truck, and service truck.
The documents indicate that the job of repainting the sign and other work took place between late September and early October.
“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.
Officials at the D.C. Department of Transportation didn’t respond by press time to a request for comment about the documents or to what steps were taken to ensure that the cost to taxpayers was kept to a minimum.
BLM Murals
The “Black Lives Matter” mural was first painted in the summer of 2020 along a section of 16th Street by a team of local artists, volunteers, and members of Washington’s Department of Public Works and Department of Transportation after days of protests in the nation’s capital, led by the BLM movement.
The 48-foot-tall capital letters run from curb to curb, and the text is followed by an image of the flag of Washington DC, two horizontal bars topped by three stars.
On June 5, 2020, Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser renamed that section of 16th Street “Black Lives Matter Plaza.” Later, the installation was made permanent.
By Tom Ozimek
