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.
A bit farther north, in the Meatpacking District, spray paint-wielding Extinction Rebellion activists also hit the Tesla showroom.
“F— DOGE,” they scrawled on the place’s front doors, among other graffiti that they festooned the place’s plate-glass windows with.
As they did at the Charging Bull sculpture, the demonstrators tried to wipe away their freshly sprayed graffiti before the cops arrived. However, two of the protesters were arrested, with charges pending, a police spokeswoman said.
Although Tesla manufactures sustainable-energy electric cars that would normally appeal to environmentalists, the Washington St. retail outlet has been the focus of ongoing weekend protests over Elon Musk’s federal government-cutting rampage as head of the Department of Government Efficiency.
Originally Published: April 22, 2025 at 12:00 PM EDT
