‘Pay Trump Bribes Here’ Projected on Trump Hotel in Washington

>An artist, Robin Bell of Bell Visuals, said he was responsible for the projections. He described himself as a video journalist and multimedia artist who works on political and public interest projects.

>In a telephone interview on Tuesday, Mr. Bell said the images were projected on the building for about 10 minutes, via a van that he parked across the street. He said he wanted to make emoluments a part of the national conversation, but it’s not the easiest topic to understand.

>You often see “a glazed-over look on people’s faces” when you bring it up, he said.

>“If you’re trying to tell a story, you sort of need a visual to help make it work sometimes,” he said.

>“We’re just trying to find a way to tell the story about the emoluments and what’s going on.”

>A spokeswoman for the hotel did not return a phone call seeking comment on Tuesday.

>Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a legal watchdog group, filed a federal lawsuit in January and amended it in April, accusing Mr. Trump of violating the Constitution by continuing to own and profit from his far-flung business empire.

>The amended complaint claimed that he had harmed an organization that represents more than 200 restaurants and nearly 25,000 employees. Its clients compete directly with restaurants that Mr. Trump owns or in which he has a financial interest.

>Mr. Trump and his administration have been past targets of Mr. Bell.

>An undated photo on his website shows another projection — “Experts agree: Trump is a pig” — at the hotel’s entrance and “#PollutingPruitt” at the entrance to the Environmental Protection Agency a few blocks away, referring to the agency’s administrator, Scott Pruitt.

>Mr. Bell said he has done such projections for about seven years and has never been arrested because of them. Five people were involved on Monday, and they packed up after hotel security stood in front of the projector and asked them to leave, he said.

>He said he believed the projections are legal, but they typically leave when ordered.

>“Getting into a fight with Trump Hotel security is not a fight we want to have,” he said.

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Now that's bantz