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Six people were arrested on Monday after climbing steep terrain around the iconic Hollywood sign and strategically altering it to convey what they said was a breast cancer awareness message, police said.
“HOLLYBOOB,” the sign said briefly, with a large tarp with the letter “B” on it thrown over the “W” and a strategically placed white dash to make the “D” another “B”.
LAPD Captain Steve Lurie, Hollywood area commander, said LAPD security personnel observed the five men and a woman under video surveillance at around 1:15 p.m. A police helicopter intervened in the area and the flight crew watched the group descend. up the hill to a location on Mulholland Drive – where other officers and park guards encountered them in handcuffs.
Those arrested have not been publicly identified and could not be immediately reached for comment on Monday.
All six will be cited for trespassing and released, Lurie said. “There is no vandalism because the sign was not damaged,” he said.
The site is surrounded by Griffith Park, but is not accessible to the public and is privately managed by the Hollywood Sign Trust.
A representative of the trust said he was grateful for the LAPD’s swift response.
“It is unfortunate that such an important icon for the city of LA is not appreciated,” said Mark Panatier, the group’s chairman, who said the intrusion to change the sign is a mistake whatever the cause. presumed.
“She’s an icon that is there to visually reinforce the importance of Hollywood, not just to the city of LA but to the world,” said Panatier. “It has to be maintained, it doesn’t need to be lowered.”
The sign has already been changed. On New Year’s Day 2017, it was changed to “HOLLYWeeD”.
Steve Alper, 54, a dentist who lives down the hill and owns the vacant Mulholland property where the arrests were made, said he was on his way to lunch when he looked out the window and saw the lettering “HOLLYBOOB”.
By the time he arrived at his Mulholland property, the group – which appeared to have cameras and other recording devices – were descending and the police were arriving, he said.
“It’s probably just a gag,” he says.
Alper said people entered the property all the time, but were mostly scared of guards or rangers on the megaphones.
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