The city of Bend, OR, has gone viral after a resident put googly eyes on local statues and public art displays around town. These googly eyes were not necessarily causing problems but did cost the city time and money to remove. The city even posted on Instagram saying, “let’s stay away from adhesives, graffiti and all things that can damage the art.” However, the bandit continued.
The light-hearted vandalism ended up getting national attention when The Late-Night Show host Stephen Colbert commented on the matter, stating, “Oh, come on, you’re gonna get mad about that? It’s fun.” However the public wanted to know the bandit’s identity, which is when he stepped forward.
Jeff Keith, a resident of Bend, admitted to putting the googly-eyes on the statues to provide some levity with everything going on, especially at his nonprofit job fighting human trafficking. Guardian Group was launched in 2010 by Keith and focuses on reporting and helping victims in the US, the number of which has been going down but is still hard to deal with.
This is not the first time Keith has done something in Bend to lighten the moment. Keith has a history of dressing up as an old man, in leis and hula skirts or a wig and bell bottoms. He said he tries to do things he thinks will make people smile, which he seemed to succeed in because other residents started to googly eye other pieces around town. This caught Keith off guard who then went to turn himself in and pay for the damages, but the city has not gotten back to him yet.
