Hollyweed: LAPD Makes Arrest in Iconic Sign Alteration

Los Angeles police have arrested the man suspected of altering the Hollywood sign on New Year’s Day to read “Hollyweed.”

Zachary Cole Fernandez, 30, turned himself in to authorities with his attorney present on Monday, LAPD officer Tony Im told The Hollywood Reporter.

“He was arrested and booked for trespassing, which is a misdemeanor,” Im said.

Fernandez, who goes by the artist name Jesus Hands, granted a short interview to THR last week in which he explained he did not think his stunt, which he did for the sake of “art” and “love,” was vandalism:

I did it out of love and a certain peace from within. 2016 was a rough year for a lot of people. You got hurt and then you grew. 2017 is perfect to conjure up the growth. It was a very personal thing at first, and it still is. I hold it very personal. It was a personal thing and a tribute to the artist (who did a similar stunt in 1976), the late Daniel Finegood. I felt his message speak to me and it felt like that message needed to be shared. It was honestly just a work of art, but it becomes so much more because of people’s interpretations of it. Pot art. That’s what it is.

Fernandez is scheduled to appear in court on Feb. 15.