A local artist was arrested in Los Angeles on Monday for altering the city’s iconic Hollywood sign to read “Hollyweed,” local media reported.
Accompanied by his lawyer, Zachary Cole Fernandez surrendered to Los Angeles police detectives in Hollywood around midday, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The 30-year-old was charged with trespassing in connection with altering the sign and released on 1,000 dollar bail two hours later, the newspaper said.
CCTV filmed Fernandez climbing a fence into the restricted area near the sign on Mount Lee around 3 am (1100 GMT) on New Year’s Day.
He then used four tarpaulins, two white and two black, to change the sign’s o-letters to e’s.
In an interview with US website VICE, Fernandez, who planned the stunt with his partner, said he was inspired to do the act after discovering that it had been done before in 1976, after California relaxed its laws on marijuana.
In early November, Californians voted in favour of legalizing the recreational use of marijuana. People over the age of 21 are now allowed to carry small amounts of the drug and are permitted to grow up to six cannabis plants at home.
Fernandez is scheduled to appear on February 15 in a Los Angeles Court, the Los Angeles Times said, quoting Hollywood police.
