Prosecutors decline to pursue charges against pastors who protested mural removal
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Police body camera footage shows Rev. Andy Oliver, left, and Rev. Benedict Atherton-Zeman kneeling and praying at the former "Black History Matters" mural. Photo: St. Petersburg Police Department
Prosecutors declined to pursue charges against two pastors who were arrested protesting the removal of the former "Black History Matters" street mural.
State of play: The Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney's Office last week filed notice it would not bring charges in the cases of Rev. Andy Oliver and Rev. Benedict Atherton-Zeman, court records show.
- Oliver, the pastor at Allendale United Methodist Church, and Atherton-Zeman, of the Unitarian Universalist Church of St. Petersburg, each faced a charge of resisting an officer without violence.
- Their attorney was State Rep. Michele Rayner, D-St. Petersburg, per court records.
Catch up quick: St. Petersburg police in August arrested the pastors after police said they refused to move off Ninth Avenue South outside the Woodson African American Museum of Florida, where Florida Department of Transportation workers were painting over the street mural.
- Gov. Ron DeSantis and state transportation leaders in June ordered the removal of pavement art "that is associated with social, political or ideological messages or images," saying such artwork poses a safety risk to drivers and pedestrians.
- They provided no evidence for the claim, and the data that does exist says the opposite.
Zoom in: The Black history mural was one of five in St. Petersburg that state workers removed.
- The Progress Pride intersection at 25th Street and Central Avenue was also among them.
What they're saying: "By no means, do not mistake this for the end of the struggle. ... We will keep placing our bodies in solidarity," Olivers said in a post on Facebook.
- "And we will keep declaring that love, justice, and truth get the last word. Liberation is coming!"
What's next: The pastors each still owe $62.50 for the civil violation of obstructing a roadway, according to court records.
- Oliver asked supporters to make a donation in that amount to the Woodson Museum.