Kent State student's violent anti-Trump art display spurs outrage

A Kent State University candidate art exhibit featuring a violent image of President Donald Trump was taken down last Thursday after it spurred outrage The exhibit depicted the president's head on a stake with blood pouring down his face Alongside it read the message We only have to get lucky once According to the campus newspaper The Kent Stater the depiction was part of a student's senior thesis project Other leadership authorities were similarly displayed with their heads on stakes the assessment noted A painting of The Last Supper with Trump and his allies was also reportedly featured in the novice project NEW BOMBSHELL SURVEY REVEALS ASSASSINATION WAY OF LIFE SPREADING ON THE LEFT UNDER PRESIDENT TRUMPThe exhibit which was prominently displayed in front of a window of Kent State's Center for the Visual Arts last week caused a social media frenzy after photos of it were shared online Kent State President Todd Diacon published a report on April addressing the argument In modern days considerable social media attention has been paid to a display of learner art produced in a class within our Bachelor of Fine Arts effort The work depicted violence toward elected executives and in no way reflected the point of view of Kent State the president mentioned Diacon explained that after the university learned of the project on Wednesday evening it put up a barrier to limit access to only those who wished to see the image The participant then voluntarily took the project down last Thursday VIOLENT ATTACKS FROM ANTI-MUSK ANTI-TRUMP PROTESTERS PLAGUE NATION COMPEL GOP LAWMAKERS TO TAKE PRECAUTIONSDiacon noted the art exhibit led to strong reactions on both sides including threats of violence He lamented how the dispute had played out on social media and defended the university for responding in a timely manner Depictions of political violence are especially problematic for Kent State We know from our history what happens when polarized viewpoints intersect with violence We have addressed what took place this past week We regret that certain purveyors of information on social media chose not to update their coverage when the art was voluntarily removed and thus contributed to a confused account of what took place he stated To reiterate The artwork was removed voluntarily and promptly Diacon also affirmed the university's commitment to upholding freedom of speech under the First Amendment He thanked the attendee artist for taking down the exhibit given the sensitivities of the history of violence on our campus referencing the Kent State massacre during an anti-war rally A Kent State spokesperson referred Fox News Digital to Diacon's community declaration Attendee Rorke McCullough who created the project and the White House did not respond to requests for comment