Police in Portland, Maine, arrested 30-year-old Asher Woodworth after he walked back and forth slowly through downtown traffic dressed as a tree.

When Woodworth refused to comply with police orders, authorities took him to jail on a misdemeanor charge of obstructing a public way.

Police said Woodworth's motivation was to "see how people would react to his performance" and how it would "impact people's natural choreography."

Woodworth was covered in dozens of evergreen branches, which police removed to find his identification and make his face clear for a booking photo.

A friend of the man said he was trying to study the city's traffic patterns.

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