Woman pleads not guilty to scrawling anti-Trump graffiti on government buildings

A 37-year-old homeless woman accused of scrawling anti-Donald Trump graffiti on several Los Angeles County buildings pleaded not guilty Monday to four felony counts of vandalism.

Victoria Jayne Bay, who was arrested Nov. 22, faces four counts of felony vandalism over $400 damage, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.

Bay spray-painted anti-Trump messages at the Hall of Justice, Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center, Hall of Records and the county’s Central Heating and Refrigeration Plant on Nov. 20, the criminal complaint alleges.

Authorities originally estimated the damage at about $9,000.

Surveillance cameras had filmed a woman as she used a can of blue spray paint to deface four buildings in downtown L.A. on a Sunday. She scrawled vulgarities about Trump and other writings about the president-elect, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

Officials released surveillance images of the woman, who was wearing a plaid shirt and had a distinct mop of blue hair.

On Nov. 22, Los Angeles Police Department officers on patrol near 1st Street and Soto Avenue stopped a woman for having an open container in public and recognized her as the suspect from the graffiti investigation, officials said.

Officers arrested Bay on suspicion of felony vandalism.

If Bay is convicted, she could face a maximum sentence of five years in jail.

Times staff writer Matt Hamilton contributed to this report.

brittny.mejia@latimes.com

Twitter: @Brittny_Mejia

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