President Trump’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and other buildings on Hollywood Boulevard have been boarded up with plywood ahead of Election Day results.
On Tuesday morning, the star was covered with plywood and had guardrails surrounding it, preventing people from getting too close. A sign saying “No public access” was hanging on the barrier.
Trump’s star has been a beacon for vandalism during his four years in the White House. It’s been destroyed at least four times during his administration, including twice in October.
James Otis, who has previously vandalized Trump’s star, destroyed it with a pickaxe on Friday morning. It’s possible the star has remained boarded up since Friday and was intentionally left protected going into Election Day. Otis has also claimed that he was behind an earlier vandalism in October, when someone dressed as the Incredible Hulk destroyed Trump’s star just hours after he and Melania Trump announced they had tested positive for coronavirus.
The star was also vandalized in 2016 and 2018. Trump received the honor in 2007 in the TV category for producing nationwide beauty pageants.
Many businesses around the country have boarded up their windows and taken extra security precautions in case of protests after Tuesday’s election results. Several locations along Hollywood Boulevard have done the same, including the El Capitan Entertainment Center, Ripley’s Believe It or Not museum and several shopping areas.
The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce has condemned all destruction to the stars, noting that the damage constitutes a felony and the organization must pay to have them fixed.
“Any star which is vandalized or destroyed, no matter which honoree it belongs to, will be replaced by the Hollywood Historic Trust, a non-profit, non-partisan group. The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a historic landmark which celebrates the professional contributions of the inductees. The stars, once installed, are considered part of the historic fabric of the Walk,” said Rana Ghadban, president and CEO of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce after the first October incident. “When people are angry with one of our honorees, we would hope that they would project their anger in more positive ways than to vandalize a California state landmark. Our democracy is based on respect for the law. People can make a real difference by voting and not destroying public property.”