Obama 'Hope' artist due back in Boston court

BOSTON -- The street artist who created the "Hope" poster of President Barack Obama is due back in court.

Shepard Fairey is scheduled to appear in Boston Municipal Court on Friday for a status hearing in connections with 13 vandalism charges around Boston.

The 39-year-old Los Angeles resident has pleaded not guilty to placing stickers on signposts and other public property in the city.

Last month, prosecutors dropped 14 other vandalism charges against Fairey, citing insufficient evidence.

Fairey was arrested by Boston police in February when he was in the city for an event kicking off his exhibit at the Institute of Contemporary Art. The arrest came after he failed to appear in court on a charge of placing a poster on a Boston electrical box in September 2000.

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