Still up in Adams Morgan (Photo by Thundercheese)

When hundreds of “One Way” signs around D.C. were surreptitiously affixed with stickers so that the signs read “One Love,” a representative of the group that pulled off the stunt told DCist that they would “come off naturally.”

That was nearly three weeks ago.

Since an employee of One Love Massive, an events planning company, plastered the stickers over the very important directional signs on Valentine’s Day, many of the 160 targeted signs are still defaced.

It was kind of cute for an hour on February 14, but now it’s March 6, people are driving around in the snow and rain, and some of those drivers may even be from Maryland. In other words, it’s still dangerous to mess with “One Way” signs.

And it’s also still illegal. At the time, we noted that the D.C. Code is quite clear on the unauthorized alteration of street signs:

No person shall place, maintain, or display upon or in view of any highway any unauthorized sign, signal, marking, or device which purports to be, is an imitation of, or resembles an official traffic control device or railroad sign or signal; or which attempts to direct the movement of traffic; or which hides from view or interferes with the effectiveness of any official traffic control device or any railroad sign or signal.

Unfortunately, we couldn’t immediately find what the appropriate penalties for such actions are, but now we have an answer.

Via the District Department of Transportation, which is responsible for maintaining the city’s street signs, its vandalism of public property, plain and simple. And the punishment for a seemingly cute and well-meaning—although, it turns out, entirely self-promotional—stunt can be quite harsh. Any person found guilty of violating the District’s prohibition on the defacement of public or private property is subject to a criminal fine of between $250 and $1,000, or up to 180 days in jail, or both.