At 7:00 p.m. on June 3, 2015, Hon. Jesus G. Bernal, a United States District Court judge sitting in Riverside, issued a temporary restraining order that forbids the Army Corps of Engineers from taking “any action that could alter, desecrate, destroy or modify in any way” the 200 Years of Freedom Mural. The Court is set to have another hearing on July 13, 2015. Ron Kammeyer (a designer of the Mural) and the Mural Conservancy of Los Angeles had brought suit to halt the destruction of the Mural, which was set to begin on June 4, 2015. It is our hope that the entire Mural (or as much as possible) can now be saved and the Mural fully restored. We want a firm commitment and schedule from the Corps as to how this will occur. We are extremely pleased with the Court’s ruling, which found that there would be “irreparable harm” if the Mural were destroyed. Over 9,000 have signed petition to save the Mural. This case shows that public art and public expression are important to urban, suburban and rural communities across California. The Mural Conservancy hopes to work with local residents, contractors and experts to produce a plan that will save the Mural and preserve it for generations. We are calling on everyone in our communities to express the support for preserving the Mural and for public art in general. Quote from Eric Bjorgum: “We are very satisfied with the Court’s order restraining the Army Corps of Engineers from removing the 200 Years of Freedom Mural. This is what our system is all about – a federal judge with the power to decide a dispute involving the federal government, and deciding on behalf of the local citizenry to protect something that is very important to them. The Mural Conservancy and Mr. Kammeyer will prepare the next round of papers, and hopefully while the matter wends its way through the judicial system, we can have some real, meaningful talks with the Corps to do the right thing here.” Photo © Carrie Graber