In January, promotional posters for “Melania,” a documentary about the first lady, were installed at bus stops in Los Angeles.
But soon, the signs began accumulating graffiti, as photos show: devil horns scrawled on her head, a Hitler-style mustache and scrawled expletives referring to her husband's association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Los Angeles Metro officials said the wave of vandalism was “extensive and serious” and occurred after federal immigration agents shot and killed U.S. citizen Alex Pretti last weekend amid widespread tumultuous protests in Minneapolis.
The agency, concerned that vandals would also target real buses carrying advertisements for Melania Trump's eponymous documentary, decided to move the vehicles to other locations where there are fewer such concerns, Metro spokesman Patrick Chandler said Thursday.
“Given that Metro buses have suffered significant vandalism and damage during previous periods of intense public activity, we made the decision in order to protect our passengers, employees and property, and out of an abundance of caution, to move some of these buses to areas where we were not seeing such vandalism,” Chandler said in the emailed statement.
The ads have run for three weeks so far, out of a four-week ad buy. The documentary “Melania,” produced by Amazon MGM Studios, will be released in theaters on Friday.
The Los Angeles area has faced a lot of vandalism related to President Trump over the years. His star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, for example, was continually defaced during his first term (including with a spray-painted swastika and a “mute” icon) and was reportedly vandalized again recently.
The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, which manages the Walk of Fame, has previously said it has no plans to remove the star. Officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.
