--- description: The street artist is best known for his iconic Barack Obama "Hope" poster title: Artist Shepard Fairey Turns Himself In to Face Vandalism Charges image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf2909f34ef5e6ce7/69885ad48e060150e1461614/shepard-fairey.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Artist Shepard Fairey Turns Himself In to Face Vandalism Charges in Detroit  by [Tanya Basu](/author/tanya-basu/)  ## Tanya Basu Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 14, 2015 5:55 PM CUT  Shepard Fairey attends the 2015 MOCA Gala at The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA on May 30, 2015 in Los Angeles. Shepard Fairey attends the 2015 MOCA Gala at The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA on May 30, 2015 in Los Angeles.Jason LaVeris—FilmMagic/Getty Images  by [Tanya Basu](/author/tanya-basu/)  ## Tanya Basu Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 14, 2015 5:55 PM CUT Shepard Fairey, the street artist behind the iconic Barack Obama “Hope” poster, turned himself in to authorities in Detroit on Tuesday to face felony vandalism charges. Detroit police had issued an arrest warrant for Fairey in June after he illegally tagged buildings in the city in May, causing more than $9,000 of damage, [according to ](http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2015/07/14/artist-shepard-fairey-turn-today/30118623/ "undefined")[_The Detroit Free Press_](http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2015/07/14/artist-shepard-fairey-turn-today/30118623/ "undefined")_._ The artist, known for geometric, graffiti-style murals, was in Detroit this spring to create artwork that was [commissioned](http://www.freep.com/story/entertainment/arts/2015/05/22/shepard-fairey-finishes-mural-detroit/27791143/ "undefined") by the city, but he also reportedly did some unauthorized projects on the side. Fairey, who is the executive producer of the MTV series “Rebel Music,” was out of the country when the charges initially were mounted but flew to Detroit on Monday evening. He was arraigned Tuesday in Detroit and his bond was set at $75,000. The “artist-who-turned-legit” openly admitted to tagging in an interview in May. “I still do stuff on the street without permission,” [he told _The Detroit Free Press_ in an interview.](http://www.freep.com/story/entertainment/arts/2015/05/16/shepherd-fairey-detroit-mural/27459223/ "undefined") “I’ll be doing stuff on the street when I’m in Detroit.” This is not the first time Fairey has had a brush with the law. In 2012, he was fined $25,000 and sentenced to two years of probation for [tampering with evidence](http://www.obeygiant.com/headlines/an-important-message-from-shepard-fairey "undefined") in a bitter copyright feud with his “Hope” poster’s original Associated Press photographer. If he is found guilty in Detroit, Fairey faces a maximum of five years in jail and fines in excess of $10,000; a preliminary hearing will be held July 28. \[[_Detroit Free Press_](http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2015/07/14/artist-shepard-fairey-turn-today/30118623/ "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3957560/shepard-fairey-vandalism-detroit/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3957560/shepard-fairey-vandalism-detroit/"},"headline":"Artist Shepard Fairey Turns Himself In to Face Vandalism Charges in Detroit","datePublished":"2015-07-14T17:55:44.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T09:14:28.937Z","description":"The street artist is best known for his iconic Barack Obama \"Hope\" poster","url":"https://time.com/3957560/shepard-fairey-vandalism-detroit/","keywords":["Barack Obama","Crime","Art","Election","Graffiti"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf2909f34ef5e6ce7/69885ad48e060150e1461614/shepard-fairey.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tanya Basu","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tanya-basu/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf2909f34ef5e6ce7/69885ad48e060150e1461614/shepard-fairey.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"MOCA Gala 2015 Presented By Louis Vuitton","caption":"MOCA Gala 2015 Presented By Louis Vuitton","creditText":"Jason LaVeris—FilmMagic/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3957560/shepard-fairey-vandalism-detroit/","name":"Artist Shepard Fairey Turns Himself In to Face Vandalism Charges in Detroit"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"What Makes Cities Smart","description":"Prominent US Mayors discuss what is needed to build intelligent cities that can compete in the global economy","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/kS00Lo2o/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2011-01-06T21:49:22.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/kS00Lo2o.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3957560/shepard-fairey-vandalism-detroit/","duration":"PT1M53S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3957560/shepard-fairey-vandalism-detroit/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```