2 St. Petersburg pastors arrested after praying on top of ‘Black History Matters’ mural being removed by FDOT – WSVN 7News | Miami News, Weather, Sports

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WSVN) — Two pastors were arrested in St. Petersburg after they used prayer and protest to block crews from painting over a “Black History Matters” street mural.

The Rev. Andy Oliver with the Allendale United Methodist Church and the Rev. Benedict Atherton-Zeman with the Unitarian Universalist Church said they learned a crew from Florida Department of Transportation was targeting the mural, located in front of the Dr. Carter G. Woodson African American History Museum, Friday night.

So they insisted on having one last moment before the paint came out.

“What I said was, ‘Mother Goddess, Father God, spirit of life, thank you for this ability to do your work in this world,’” said Atherton-Zeman.

The pastors arrived and began to pray on top of the street mural.

“Part of my vows that I took as part of my ordination and my baptism is to resist evil and justice and oppression,” said Oliver.

Police arrested the pastors, who were charged with obstruction and hindering traffic. They spent part of the night in jail.

“We have the values of interdependence, of love, and I really couldn’t just stand on the sidelines. I had to kneel in the street,” said Atherton-Zeman.

This is the latest in a series of removals of street art in the Tampa Bay area. Others include a crosswalk on the St. Petersburg campus of the University of South Florida and a “Blue Lives Matter” mural in Tampa.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has insisted the state not allow what he deems to be political messages on roadways.

“We’re not doing the commandeering of the roads to put up messaging,” he said.

The City of St. Petersburg push for exemptions for a half-dozen murals was denied, with Mayor Ken Welch saying it had no choice but to comply or risk losing state funding.

“I think what [the governor is] going to find out is that, as he continues to erase this, people are going to come together in community,” said Oliver.

Both pastors who were arrested reiterated that they consider it their duty to honor that mural, which is why they stood up for it by kneeling.

Their attorney said she will be speaking with prosecutors about dropping the charges, because no one was injured, and it was a nonviolent form of protest.

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