Earth Day environmental activists defaced Lower Manhattan’s iconic Charging Bull statue Tuesday, then rushed to clean it up before cops arrived, officials said.
Videos on social media and photographs from the scene show a handful of Extinction Rebellion activists spray-painting “Greed=Death” onto the flank of the life-size Arturo Di Modica sculpture on Broadway near Morris St. in the Financial District.
They also sprayed green paint on the bull’s head and hung stockings filled with debris from the statue’s rear, making it appear that the bull was defecating on a cutout of Earth.
Activists waved Extinction Rebellion flags and held up signs reading “No profits on a dead planet” before they began cleaning up their political statement as police arrived.
Photos show at least one cop removing an activist who was sitting on the bull’s neck as protesters began wiping off the green paint.
When more cops arrived, the Bull had been completely cleaned off. No arrests were immediately made, an NYPD spokesman said Tuesday.
The 7,100-pound bull, meant to symbolize Wall Street’s strength, was installed in 1989 and has for decades been targeted by activists against putting profits over people.
In September 2019, Dallas resident Tevon Varlack went wild on the statue, bashing the bronze beast so hard he damaged one of its horns, cops said.
“F–k Donald Trump,” Varlack, 42, screeched over and over during the beatdown, witnesses told police.
