Axios reports that two Bay Area pastors were arrested on Friday night as the state of Florida’s war on public art and protest continues.

Rev. Andy Oliver and Rev. Benedict Atherton-Zeman , of Allendale United Methodist Church and the Unitarian Universalist Church of St. Petersburg respectively, allegedly sat down on 9th Avenue South and refused police orders to stop blocking the roadway protesting the removal of a “ Black History Matters ” mural.

The preachers were booked in Pinellas County jail Friday night and released at 5 a.m. after paying $500 bail.

St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch conceded this week that the city had no recourse when it came to blocking the state Department of Transportation from removing that and other street murals, and urged people upset to “obey

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