“Today I was punched in the face by a man who got out of his car and yelled ‘Trump 2016,'” writes Los Angeles artist Illma Gore in an Instagram post from last weekend. Gore claims that the assault took place near her home, and has posted pictures of her bruised and swollen face as evidence.
Gore has created artworks critical of the New York real estate developer, who is on track to be the Republican presidential candidate in the November election. She drew The Donald with tiny genitals after he boasted about his endowment in a debate among Republican hopefuls in March. Facebook censored a post including her drawing, titled Make America Great Again, in reference to Trump’s campaign slogan.
Illma Gore. Photo via Instagram.
In the Instagram post, Gore indicates that Facebook gave out her address, but doesn’t elaborate; she did not immediately respond to an email from artnet News. She has filed a police report, she says, adding in another post that the alleged attack took place on La Cienega Boulevard and that the attacker was in a black Honda Civic.
She says:
Though I encourage passion, opinion and emotion, especially though art, I think violence is disgusting.… This type of violence makes creatives feel like we live in a world where our individual creative input isn’t safe. I am sad that this is the state of our America right now. I am sad that Trump, and many of his supporters, don’t find words enough to express their opinions—they need walls, waterboarding and punches.
Finally, she addresses Trump directly, saying, “Please stop glamorizing and perpetuating violence. Make America Decent Again!”
Illma Gore, Make America Great Again (2016). Courtesy the artist.
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to two emails requesting comment.
The alleged assault would hardly be the first perpetrated in the candidate’s name. In August 2015, two Boston men assaulted a homeless Mexican man, saying, “Donald Trump was right; all these illegals need to be deported.” In addition, protesters have routinely been assaulted at his campaign rallies. Not only has Trump encouraged the violence, he has also reportedly offered the pay the perpetrators’ legal bills.
Moreover, Trump’s campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, was arrested on misdemeanor battery charges in March after he grabbed a female reporter trying to pose a question to the candidate. The Florida State Attorney declined to prosecute.