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Injunction Targets 'MTA' Tagging Crew Responsible for 500 pieces of Graffiti
The 1/4-mile-long MTA tag on the LA River (Photo by Nuno_Oliveira via the LAist Featured Photos pool) on Flickr
In a groundbreaking move, the City Attorney's office is seeking an injunction against the members of a tagging crew thought to be responsible for about 500 pieces of graffiti all over the city, according to the Daily News. One such piece is the massive "MTA" tag on a quarter-mile-long section of the L.A. River near Downtown "that cost nearly $4 million to remove."
Their "MTA" tag stands for "Metro Transit Assassins," who leave their mark "on highway signs, sound walls, billboards, bridges, buses, passenger trains, freight train cars, trucks, homes and commercial buildings." The L.A. River piece was positioned strategically so as to be seen from not only freeway traffic, but from planes going in and out of Bob Hope Airport and LAX.
The injunction "seeks to ban the 10 known adult members of the crew from associating with one another or from possessing weapons or graffiti tools." Additionally it "would impose an overnight curfew and would prohibit the suspected vandals from being on foot on freeways, near the L.A. River or on any property owned by" the real MTA, as in the Metropolitan Transit Authority. It also names 50 "John Does" to give officers latitude to arrest associates of the crew. A hearing is scheduled for August 31 to discuss the injunction.
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