FORT MYERS, Fla. -- A Fort Myers artist is upset after his mural of President Donald Trump was painted over.
Leo Stack first painted the mural on a building he rents on Fowler Street and MLK Boulevard during election season, but it was covered with fresh paint on Monday. "When I came back, the building was being painted by a person who was concerned about the mural and they had told me stuff about them not liking Trump," he said. "Malicious vandalism."
He believes someone vandalized the building because of political differences. "I painted his picture because he supports vets and he says he's upholding our constitution," said Stack.
Some walking by weren't fans of the painting, but others even volunteered to steak out at night to watch over it. "I think it stands for hope, and I think it stands for everything great that we have to offer," said Justin Skeens.
4 In Your Corner uncovered who really painted over the mural. Turns out, it's not vandalism. The owner of the building painted over it because Stack did not have a permit yet for the mural, and it violated city code. The owners sent the following statement:
"The mural was painted without Peden LLC and its owners providing written permission as required in the process of filing for a permit with the City of Fort Myers.
Mr. Stack did not apply for a Permit, and was cited with a stop work order by a code enforcement officer which he ignored.
The end result was the attached NOTICE OF VIOLATION, mailed to PEDEN LLC
It was issued on the 27th of January with a 10 day notice to correct, which made the last day being February the 6th.to correct.
Mr. Stack was made aware of the issue on Friday the 3rd of February, and still did not apply for the Permit.
The Mural was not Vandalized as stated on the new Mural Mr. Stack has started.
Peden LLC had the mural, plus the entire side of the building painted, which had a continuation of the mural in order to comply with the code violation, which when not complied to in the set forth time of 10 days can be punished with a fine of up to $250.00 per day plus court fees.
Also any fines ultimately will be directed to the owner of the building, NOT Mr. Stack"
Stack continued painting, Tuesday. He says he's already applied for a permit. "I'm getting a permit to do this. I've been doing murals for 27 years and I've never had to get a permit until now," he said.
