Maine dancer dressed as a tree is arrested for blocking a busy intersection

Publish date: 2024-05-05

A 30-year-old artist was arrested after he dressed as a tree and blocked a busy intersection in Portland, Maine.

Asher Woodworth was charged with obstructing a public way on Monday after he refused to stay out of traffic at the intersection of High and Congress Street.

The evergreen branches had to be removed in his mug shot and they were left behind at the Cumberland County Jail, according to the Press Herald.

Woodworth, who is a dancer, told police he wanted to see how he would affect 'people's natural choreography'.

Asher Woodworth was charged with obstructing a public way on Monday after he refused to stay out of traffic at the intersection of High and Congress Street

Asher Woodworth was charged with obstructing a public way on Monday after he refused to stay out of traffic at the intersection of High and Congress Street

Hilarious video footage shows Woodworth ambling slowly across the intersection, flanked by police officers on both sides as they struggled to grab hold of him

Hilarious video footage shows Woodworth ambling slowly across the intersection, flanked by police officers on both sides as they struggled to grab hold of him

Police have arrested a man dressed as tree for blocking traffic on Congress Street...as God is my witness. pic.twitter.com/VUFQY6Vyv0

— TVTEDDY (@TVTEDDY) October 24, 2016

Woodworth was released on Monday evening after he posted bail, which was set at $60.

Hilarious video footage shows Woodworth ambling slowly across the intersection, flanked by police officers on both sides as they struggled to grab hold of him.

The officers initially left him with a warning to stay out of the road, only to arrest Woodworth when he wandered back into traffic.

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The 30-year-old, who received his undergraduate degree in Dance and Philosophy at Bennington College in Vermont, later told police it was a 'performance'.

His friend also told the Press Herald that Woodworth wanted to study the city's traffic patterns. 

Woodworth lists his interests in 'choreography' and 'plants' on his website, and he posted images of people covered in branches on his Tumblr page on September 28.

Woodworth, who lists his interests in 'choreography' and 'plants' on his website, told police it was a 'performance'

Woodworth, who lists his interests in 'choreography' and 'plants' on his website, told police it was a 'performance'

This isn't the first time Woodworth has been arrested. 

In 2009, he and three other friends ran more than 450 feet of extension cords across four lanes of traffic to power an electric drill in an attempt to steal an enormous chili pepper logo from a Chili's franchise in Bennington.

He was caught trying to remove the bolts when an alarm went off, and three women keeping a lookout were also arrested.

Woodworth listed the incident on his website, along with numerous other performances, writing: 'Okay, first off let me clarify that this was supposed to be a gesture of generosity, not malice, as it has so crudely been spun to be. 

'The gift of the pepper was meant for my good friend Ham who, upon passing by the pepper on several occasions, had remarked to me about it’s beauty, it’s smoothness, and it’s enticing features.'

 

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