'Parks and Rec' actor charged over vandalism of George Floyd statue in NYC

Micah Beals, a 37-year-old struggling actor who reportedly had small roles on TV shows such as "Parks and Rec," has been identified as the suspect who vandalized the George Floyd memorial statue in New York City earlier in the month.

According to footage, the suspect, who was previously not identified, skateboarded up to the statue and vandalized it with silver paint on Oct. 3 around 10 am.

USA Today reported that Beals was charged with criminal mischief over the incident in Union Square Park that left the structure defaced.

Surveillance video from the scene showed "a person on a skateboard threw gray paint on the face and base of a statue of George Floyd," according to the New York Police Department’s hate crimes Twitter account. The account announced on Oct. 25 that Beals had been arrested and charged with the second-degree crime.

Detective Frances Sammon commented when interviewed by the media. "There's video footage police were able to ascertain. They show a male ducking down under one of the statues. He then mixes something together, and, as he skates away, he throws a container of paint at the statue," Sammon told CNN.

Volunteers quickly gathered to clean the paint up that same day. Andrew Cohen, one of the co-founders of Confront Art, the organization who brought the statue to its current location in Manhattan's Union Square, said:

"They went to the hardware and bought supplies out of their own pockets. This is inspiring teamwork and support from the community."

The Daily Wire has described Beals as a starving actor who made small appearances on "CSI: New York" and "That's So Raven." At this time, Beal's possible motive or motives for the alleged act remain unclear.

Georgia Floyd died in police custody last May, sparking consecutive Black Lives Matter riots throughout the summer of 2020. In April of this year, former Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin was sentenced to 22.5 years, found guilty on all counts. Chauvin is appealing the conviction.