Charges dismissed against graffiti artist Fairey in Detroit: reports

(Reuters) – A judge in Detroit has dismissed charges against famed street artist Shepard Fairey, creator of the 2008 Barack Obama “Hope” poster, who was accused last year of defacing several properties in the city, local media reported on Wednesday.

The office of Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Cynthia Gray Hathaway confirmed she granted on June 21 a motion to dismiss the charges filed by Fairey’s attorney, Bradley J. Friedman, according to the Detroit News.

Hathaway, Detroit city attorneys, Friedman and Fairey could not be immediately reached for comment.

Fairey, 46, was accused of two counts of malicious destruction of property, each punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.

Detroit Police accused him of plastering his signature Andre the Giant posters on buildings in and near downtown in May 2015, when he was in town to create a 184-foot-high mural that was commissioned for the side of a building.

Police said he vandalized nine different locations, including two city-owned properties. A warrant was issued for Fairey and he turned himself in to Detroit police on July 14 last year.

In addition to creating the four-color “Hope” image Obama used during his 2008 presidential campaign, Fairey is the man behind the “Obey” street-art sticker campaign.

(Reporting by Justin Madden in Chicago; editing by Fiona Ortiz and Tom Brown)