An actor who has appeared in "Parks and Recreation" as well as in "CSI: New York" has been charged with criminal mischief after reportedly defacing a bronze statue of George Floyd in New York City earlier this month.
Micah Beals, whose stage name is Micah Femia, was accused after surveillance footage emerged showing a white man on a skateboard riding past the statue and throwing grey paint on it, according to reports. The incident took place on Oct. 3 but various outlets including the New York Post identified the man as the actor who according to IMDB has appeared in "CSI: New York" in 2004, "Parks and Recreation" in 2009, and 2013's "Pop Star."
Beals was arraigned shortly after midnight Tuesday. A criminal complaint states that it could cost about $20,000 to restore the statue memorializing Floyd, which has been vandalized in the past.
Shortly after its unveiling on Juneteenth, a group defined as white supremacists defaced the statue with black paint and their logo, USA Today reported. It was cleaned up by the group that installed it, but months later the volunteers had to gather to clean it again.
Responding to the most recent incident of vandalism, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul called it an "act of cowardice and hate" that "is reprehensible."
The statue's artist, Chris Carnabuci, admitted in a statement that the act did not come as a "complete surprise" although it was still "quite upsetting to us all."
"Actions like this remind us that we have a long way to go, and we will never stop fighting," he said.
The Floyd statue is part of the SEEINJUSTICE exhibit by Confront Art, which said that, although the defacing was disheartening, the gathering of the community to refurbish the statue shone through.
"Today was tough, but the beauty of today was that when we arrived to refurbish the statue, we found community members and allies already hard at work, out of their own goodwil [sic], scrubbing and working to honor the integrity of the art and the power of the subject," the organization said in a statement earlier this month. "People traveled after hearing about the vandalism just to assist.
"Thank you for stepping in, stepping up, and showing that together we are stronger than hate."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.