(Radio Iowa) – An Iowan who gained national attention for painting flowers on manhole covers has asked a judge in Sioux City to dismiss charges Police arrested Brandon Bradshaw in November for criminal mischief and drinking in public, but he says he didn’t mean to break the law with his painting.  “The Sioux City Mayor, the City of Sioux City, and the residents of Sioux City have all spoken. They want this, so I think it’s just best to let it go and if I was drawing something else, it might be a different story, but it was flowers,” Bradshaw says.

Bradshaw’s attorney told a judge the mayor of Sioux City previously signed an agreement to dismiss the charges against him after the public supported him. Bradshaw spoke after a courtroom appearance Wednesday. “It was never about me. It’s always about the people creating smiles, making people have a better day when they’re going to work or going to school or whatever the case may be, and it was all marker paint, so 90 percent of them are gone anyways,” he says. “So, I felt it was no different than doing it on a sidewalk chalk, to be honest with you.”

The prosecutor says the County Attorney’s Office did not sign off on the agreement to drop the charges. Bradshaw says depending on the outcome of the case, he plans to continue spreading joy through his artwork. The community of Sac City, inspired by Bradshaw, encouraged residents to paint manholes in their town. The judge says she will issue a ruling later in the case.