Environmental activists deface Trump golf course

A group of environmental activists vandalized one of President Donald Trump’s premier golf courses early Sunday.

The group — which labels itself an “anonymous environmental activist collective” — sneaked into Trump National Golf Club in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., and carved a message into the green with 6-foot-tall letters that said: “NO MORE TIGERS. NO MORE WOODS.”

The 18-hole, 7,300yard course is set among cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean just south of Los Angeles. Last year, Golf Digest ranked it the 43rd best course in California.

In a statement sent to the Washington Post, the group said the vandalism was carried out in response to the Trump administration’s “blatant disregard” for the environment.

‘A simple message’

“In response to the president’s recent decision to gut our existing protection policies, direct action was conceived and executed on the green of his California golf course in the form of a simple message: NO MORE TIGERS. NO MORE WOODS,” the statement said.

The golf course did not respond to multiple requests for comment, nor did the Trump Organization’s New York headquarters.

A spokesman for the Los Angeles County Sheriff ’s Department confirmed that the department received a call for service Sunday morning about grass being dug up around hole five at the golf club.

The spokesman said the department sent a deputy to the scene to determine whether the damage constituted an act of vandalism or whether it was accidental. The message was carved into the green using gardening tools and took less than one hour to accomplish, according to a member of the group who discussed the project with the Washington Post on the condition of anonymity.

The group consisted of four people, who accessed the course by scaling a fence and “walking down a steep hill laced with cacti,” the group member told the Post.

‘Just felt justified’

“Tearing up the golf course felt justified in many ways,” the member said. “Repurposing what was once a beautiful stretch of land into a playground for the privileged is an environmental crime in its own right.”

“We hope this sends a message to Trump and his corrupt administration that their actions will be met with action,” the member added.

Previously farm land, Trump National Golf Club opened in November 2000. On its website, the club touts its dedication to “protecting the environmentally sensitive habitat that plays host to several protected plant species and the endangered Coastal California Gnatcatcher (a small migratory bird).”

“Several environmentally aware agencies — including the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the California Department of Fish & Game — were involved with setting up a series of standards and guidelines for the course,” the website adds.

Sunday’s vandalism was not the first time Trump properties have been attacked.

Trump’s new Washington hotel was spray-painted with the words “Black Lives Matter” during an October demonstration, according to Politico.