Police have arrested a man dressed as tree for blocking traffic on Congress Street…as God is my witness.
Motorists in Portland, Maine were treated to an unusual sight: A man dressed as a tree blocking traffic.
Police officers were called to the scene, and escorted the evergreen-costumed Asher Woodworth out of traffic. Watch above. Jokes immediately circulated about the convenient nature of Woodworth’s first and last name when it comes to a tree-oriented stunt.
The bizarre spectacle led to headlines like this one in the Portland Press-Herald: “Man dressed as a tree arrested in busy Portland intersection.” The WCSH-TV headline was even better: “Tree arrested in downtown Portland for blocking traffic.”
According to WCSH, police said “his motivation was to see how people would react to what he called his ‘performance.'” WMTW said police encountered Woodworth standing in the middle of a busy street. He was released on $60 bail, said the TV station.
UPDATE: Man seen dressed as tree blocking traffic at High and Congress Streets in Portland identified as Asher Woodworth, 30, jail says
Woodworth allegedly told police he wanted to see how the stunt would alter the “natural choreography” of people. His LinkedIn page summary says, “Looking at valuing subjective experience, divergent thinking, and our physical bodies” and says he is a research associate for a thermal efficiency project.
So a guy dressed up as a tree and decided to block traffic.
He got arrested…
(Photo: Curt Fletcher) t.co/vnN7stCWfQ
The LinkedIn site also says he is an art worker who is “interested in modes of being-in-the-world. I make performances, videos, and other non-fiction art that tries to open spaces of criticality and possibility.” One person who recommended him on LinkedIn wrote that he was generous and loving and added that Woodworth, “treats his colleagues and directors like the precious seed-bearing fruit of his own garden.”
Police asked the man his name and motivation. They gave him a warning. He then blocked traffic again and was arrested.
According to The Press Herald, Woodworth, 30, of Portland refused police orders to leave the intersection and was charged with obstructing a public way.
Police say “tree guy” is 30 year old Asher Woodworth? He told police he wanted to see how his act affected “people’s natural choreography.”
According to The UK Daily Mail, Woodworth was previously arrested for allegedly trying to “steal an enormous chili pepper logo from a Chili’s franchise in Bennington.”
The Cumberland County Sheriff’s office released his mugshot sans tree branches.
Here’s the man behind the branches. Asher Woodworth was released on $60 bail tonight. 🌲#WGME
Naturally, the puns and jokes soon flew on Twitter.
@john_wawrow @thewaronstring no joke…this guy got charged with tree-son