Photo
A man who admitted changing the Hollywood sign to “Hollyweed” has turned himself in to the authorities.
Zachary Cole Fernandez, a 30-year-old artist, surrendered on Monday with his lawyer at his side, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. He was booked on a misdemeanor trespassing charge and released on bail.
The sign was changed about 3 a.m. on Jan. 1, when two O’s were partly obscured by sheets and turned into E’s. It remained that way throughout the morning before the sign was restored.
In a phone interview, Mr. Fernandez said he considered the results more of an art installation than a prank.
“Yeah, I broke the rules, but I broke it with good spirit and good intentions,” he said on Tuesday. “It was just to bring light and positivity and happiness.”
Get the Morning Briefing by Email What you need to know to start your day, delivered to your inbox Monday through Friday. Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Invalid email address. Please re-enter. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Sign Up Receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. Thank you for subscribing. An error has occurred. Please try again later. View all New York Times newsletters.
But David Ryu, a Los Angeles councilman, remained unamused.
“Pranks of this nature deplete the resources of our valuable public safety personnel, in both responding to the prank and in responding to the increased crowds and copycat attempts that these incidents generate,” he said in a statement on Monday.
“My office has urged the city attorney and L.A.P.D. to investigate and prosecute this case, as well as all attempts to trespass near, alter, or vandalize the sign.”
Advertisement Continue reading the main story
Mr. Fernandez is expected to appear in court on Feb. 15. He said he had been inspired by a similar alteration in 1976, and that he had used clamps and sheets so as not to damage the sign.
“I don’t want to destroy anything,” he said. “I’m about peace and love and respect and integrity and a lot of things that in some ways are missing these days. I wanted to show there’s a light in the world.”
A father of four children ranging in age from 3 to 9, Mr. Fernandez said he had been told he could face up to six months in jail. He said he saw that as excessive for a “harmless” art project, but would accept any consequences.
“I’m a person of integrity,” he said. “If I do something wrong, I will own up to it.”
On Monday, the person responsible for changing the  in California to read "Hollyweed" as a new year's prank turned himself in to local authorities. 30-year-old artist Zachary Cole Fernandez surrendered himself, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) said.
The Hollywood sign as it normally appears.
According to LAPD, Fernandez went to the police station accompanied by his lawyer, where he confessed to have changed the sign and was bailed out shortly thereafter for US$1000. LAPD charged Fernandez with trespassing; earlier reports indicated vandalism charges were ruled out as he used black and white tarps to alter the letter "O" to read lowercase "e". The sign was not physically damaged. 

A court hearing is scheduled for February 15. Fernandez said this act was an art project, and claimed he faces up to six months in prison if convicted. It took Fernandez two hours to alter the sign. Regarding conviction, he said, "I'm a person of integrity. If I do something wrong, I will own up to it."

Exactly 41 years ago, on the same date in 1976, then-university student Daniel Finegood modified the sign to read "Hollyweed" for an art class assignment. Finegood returned to change the sign again in 1990, spelling out "Oil War" to protest against the First Persian Gulf War. Fernandez, on Tuesday, said his act was to "bring light and positivity and happiness". He said he was inspired by Finegood's modification to the sign.

City Councilman David Ryu said in a statement. "Pranks of this nature deplete the resources of our valuable public safety personnel".

The term "weed" is an English slang term for cannabis, a banned drug in many countries. On November 9, a ballot for legalising recreational use of cannabis in California for the age group of 21 and above was passed. The law legalising recreational cannabis is due to come into effect in 2018.