SoCal School Mural Depicting Donald Trump's Severed Head Penetrated By Spear Sparks Online Furor
CHULA VISTA (CBSLA) — A mural at a San Diego County charter school is causing a stir for depicting the decapitated head of the president with a spear going through it.
CBS8 reports the mural at MAAC Charter School in the southern San Diego County city of Chula Vista shows an Aztec warrior putting a spear through Donald Trump's head. Parents of students at the school have voiced their concerns about the painting, saying it is too graphic and inappropriate.
"I know Donald Trump is not the best president, but that's not good because that only starts more trouble, in my opinion," one man told CBS8.
Some thought the representation of the artist's opinion was a valid choice, though even they admitted it might be inappropriate at a school.
"I think it's great artwork. Personal opinion, it is a little graphic, but overall it's the person's opinion that painted it," said one father. "Now, being on a school, um, I could see maybe they shouldn't have done that."
The section of the mural containing Donald Trump's head had been boarded up Friday.
An artist who goes by the name Sasha Andrade has claimed responsibility for the mural, saying she won't be censored.
Andrade wrote a comment on a post about the mural from a local TV station reading, "Thanks for the free advertising, if you need any [murals] let us know."
Andrade linked to an Instagram page showing her spray painting the mural with an artist who goes by the Instagram handle @mex_live. The man, who appears in most of his photos with his face covered, posted a video of a news piece saying, "They are harassing Sasha because I took a picture of her painting. So they think she painted the mural!!!"
The school's director Tommy Ramirez told CBS8 "this mural was a part of Battlegroundz, an annual event which highlights the urban art form of street murals to raise money to provide scholarships for seniors," adding the following:
"We understand that there was a mural painted at the event this past weekend that does not align with our school's philosophy of non-violence. We have been in communication with the artist who has agreed to modify the artwork to better align with the school's philosophy."
Online, the reaction has been swift, with several avowed Trump supporters calling for the arrest of the alleged artist for threats to the president. Below are some of the reactions.
According to MAAC's website, the school " is open to students 14 – 24 years old and provides the same core education classes offered at district high schools."
CBSLA reached out to Andrade and @mex_live for comment but had not received a reply Friday evening.
