A defaced mural in Maine shows Governor Paul LePage in KKK hood and wearing Mickey Mouse ears
Thomson Reuters
Maine Governor Paul LePage speaks at the 23rd Annual Energy Trade and Technology Conference in Boston
A provocative mural protesting Maine Gov. Paul LePage has appeared in Portland, Maine this week.
The mural, which an unknown artist drew this week in Portland, Maine, originally depicted the embattled governor wearing a Ku Klux Klan hood and robe next to the words “RACIST,” “HOMOPHOBE” and “MORON.” A fourth word, “GOVERNOR,” was crossed out with a red line.
However, yesterday, the artwork underwent a number of transformations at the hands of vigilante residents.
First, according to NBC affiliate WCSH-TV, two LePage supporters painted over the mural with white paint. Then, opponents of the governor scrubbed the paint off, restoring the original image.
AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty
Graffiti painted on a public art space depicts Gov. Paul LePage in a white hood and robe with a red Ku Klux Klan insignia, Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2016, in Portland, Maine.
Late Tuesday night, the Ku Klux Klan imagery was removed from the mural, while Mickey Mouse ears were added to the governor’s image, according to the Portland Press Herald. The words “No Hate” and “Hate is Hate” were also added.
A graffiti mural of LePage originally had him dressed as a KKK leader, but this morning he has Mickey ears. http://pic.twitter.com/ymb3QMJfPS
— Kelsey Fabian (@KelseyFabian) September 7, 2016
“I do not want it up there. It is not reflective of our values,” Mayor Ethan Strimling said, according to the Press Herald. “The KKK has a long, problematic history in the state of Maine, and equating the governor and his rhetoric, as much as we disagree with it, is a step too far.”
LePage, a Republican, has come under fire for a series of inflammatory comments he made last month, which include a diatribe about ‘black and Hispanic’ drug dealers and a profanity-laced voicemail left for a state representative.
LePage vowed he would not resign in wake of the remarks, and rejected some lawmakers’ assertions that he had “mental issues.”
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