Portland tree

“Make like a tree and leave!” No one’s said that’s specifically what Portland, Maine police officers told Asher Woodworth when they arrested him for hanging out in the middle of a busy intersection while dressed as a tree, but no one’s said they didn’t say it either.

Here’s video of the arrest:

Here’s more on this bizarre story from The Portland Press-Herald:

A man dressed as a tree was arrested Monday afternoon in downtown Portland and charged with obstructing a public way.

Assistant Police Chief Vern Malloch said Asher A. Woodworth, 30, of Portland, who was standing in traffic at High and Congress streets, was arrested by officers after refusing orders to leave the congested intersection.

Woodworth was taken to the Cumberland County Jail, where bail was set at $60 cash. He was released Monday night after making bail.

Woodworth declined to answer interview requests from the paper, but according to the assistant police chief, said he wanted to impact “people’s natural choreography”:

…“His motivation was to see how people would react to what he called his ‘performance’ and how he might impact ‘people’s natural choreography,’ ” Malloch said in an email. Malloch said Woodworth made the comments about his motives as he was being booked at the jail by Portland officers.

Well, I guess that’s one reason to stand in the middle of the street dressed as a tree? There seem to be more productive uses for humanoid trees than blocking busy intersections, though. Couldn’t Woodworth find a nice fortress to storm or something?


[The Portland Press-Herald]

About Andrew Bucholtz

Andrew Bucholtz has been covering sports media for Awful Announcing since 2012. He is also a staff writer for The Comeback. His previous work includes time at Yahoo! Sports Canada and Black Press.