Trump-Supporting Artist’s Sculpture is Torched in Staten Island
“Freedom of the artist is a gauge of how free a society really is.”
While the elite media, leftists activists, and Clinton’s minions explored new human limits in hyperbole yesterday by connecting Donald Trump’s Second Amendment comments to incitement to violence, the GOP presidential candidate’s supporters experienced real attacks.
Arguably, the most dramatic of these episodes involved a vividly colored sculpture by artist Scott LoBaido, whose work was displayed at the home of his friend, Sam Pirozollo. The artwork was torched over the weekend.
A Staten Island Trump supporter’s gigantic red, white, and blue T lawn ornament went up in flames early Sunday morning.
The incident occurred shortly after 1 a.m. Sunday on a New York island that Donald Trump won with an astounding 80 percent of the vote. The homeowner, Sam Pirozzolo, said his neighbors knocked on his door to alert him that the 12-by-8-foot foam sign was ablaze. The FDNY put out the flames, which, thankfully, did not damage Pirozzolo’s home. The NYPD is investigating the crime as an arson; the sign appears to have been doused in gasoline.
Pirozzolo said two smaller pro-Trump signs disappeared from his property last week, too. “I assume it was committed by a pro-Hillary supporter,” Pirozzolo told the Staten Island Advance. “I hope that this incident [the fire] is elevated from an arson to a hate crime, because that’s how I see it since it was done on my private property.”
The term “sign” is misleading. The piece was a fully formed piece of art in support of Trump’s candidacy. Imagine what the outcry would have been had Christians done something similar to “Piss Christ” or “Cow Dung Virgin Mary.”
LoBaido is one of those rare conservative artists, like our own Antonio F. Branco. Our Tea Party’s resident artist is Sarah B., who created the SoCal Tax Revolt Coalition logo and other pieces for the San Diego group. She found this act of vandalism particularly disturbing, saying:
“Freedom of the artists is a gauge of how truly free a society is. I cannot imagine what will happen to this nation if progressives successfully silence dissenters by vandalism, threats, and intimidation. If you want to counter a message, put up one of your own. Don’t destroy another’s work. Any liberal who supports this arson is a complete hypocrite.”
The left has been loudly howling about “Jim Crow.” Yet, Pirozollo’s family was treated to a front row performance of Crow-style thuggery: “Oh, my God, this is like the Ku Klux Klan burning a cross on my lawn, telling me that I have to shut up,” he said regarding the fire.
Trump called Pirozzolo and offered his support and gratitude:
Sam Pirozzolo said the Republican candidate called his cellphone around 4 p.m., saying: “This is Donald Trump. I saw what happened all over the news. I appreciate everything you are doing.”
“It’s horrible what happened to you. I hope you and your family are safe,” Pirozzolo said Trump added.
Pirozollo and LoBaido also put up an even larger sign.
“We’re gonna figure out a way for Mexico to pay for it!” ???? #Trump supporter’s bigger sign after 1st torched | NYPost https://t.co/t2cwaEIdls
— MAGA Report (@MAGAreport) August 10, 2016
Pirozolloa’s family is fortunate that the fire was quenched before it damaged the home, as the artwork was built close to the house. Besides arson and criminal trespass, I would toss in a charge of reckless endangerment and maybe consider a civil lawsuit as well.
However, I will let the real legal experts among or Legal Insurrection friends offer their suggestions. I am sure they will be very sensible.
At this point, Pirozollo is grateful for the support. He wrote this on Facebook:
Once again I would like to take the time to say thank you and offer an apology to all of our friends, neighbors and supporters. My family and I are truly humbled and grateful that we live in a community where so many have written and visited to show their support against this terrible act of cowardice and vandalism. We are truly fortunate to have your support. I would also like to say thank you to all of those who did media interviews that stood up not only for my family but for one of our most precious rights and that is the right of free speech.
And I am grateful for patriots like Pirozollo and LoBaido who aren’t willing to be cowed by self-righteous progressive haters.
(Featured image via Twitter).
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Comments
“I will let the real legal experts among our L.I. friends offer their suggestions. I’m sure they will be very sensible.”
Very droll Leslie.
Clinton shouldn’t have made that comment:
“I am not saying I am going to lose, but it could happen through fraud and I am not say it was the fault of that Staten Island statue, just saying, I mean I am not saying, I am kinda blaming the whole thing on that statue; Someone should do something, but I am not saying it should be burned down, folks. You don’t me to tell you what to do.”
Staten Island is the only solidly republican borough in NYC. I think they burned it down themselves or the local kids got drunk and did it.
According to Wikileaks: Left Planned to Stage Violence to Bring Down Trump PowerPoint playbook on the messaging — slide number 6 — with the messaging theme number 1: Violence.
http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2016/08/10/left-planned-stage-violence-embarrass-trump/
That was from the DNC email leak.
And what did you just do? You immediately speculated that Trump supporters did this. I see no principled distinction between what you did, and what you accuse others of doing.
“Any liberal who supports this arson is a complete hypocrite.” Has any? Name one.
This is truly deserving of national news.
Just because they don’t come out and support this arson publicly doesn’t mean they don’t support it.
It just means we don’t get to call out their hypocrisy to their faces.
Yep, you don’t get to call hypocrisy. Yet she did and you did. Who needs facts when you have belief?
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
Doesn’t matter who said it, its still true. This is the same BS argument I hear people making for “Moderate muslims”; “they aren’t the problem, it’s the radicals.” Supposedly the “radical muslims” are only about 10% of muslims, which means that 90% of muslims are standing aside and no doing shit about the 10% that is causing the problem, even though they have the numbers and power to kick that 10% teeth in and tell them to straiten up. Until they do then as far as I am concerned that 90% is just as bad if not worse than that 10%.
Same applies here, if they aren’t denouncing this then yes they are hypocrites, Imagine the out rage if someone torched a Hillary sing.
Jeebus, Leslie…
I’m embarrassed for you.
I guess you must support criminal acts as long as they are against someone you feel is beneath you.
No, moron. I don’t consider the adverts on the sides of trucks “art”.
Nor do I consider a billboard a “sculpture”.
Leslie seems to have a jaundiced view, as seen through her T-rump suckery.
It was clearly racist and I am sure the neighbors felt harassed. If they let this continue – next he might post a giant Gadsden flag which we all know is code for slavery.
/s
Unless government agents burned it down on official orders, the First Amendment has nothing to do with it. The guy is entitled to his sign, but I must say that if somebody erected something so astonishingly ugly on my street, I’d be sorely tempted to torch it myself.
If you think blacklivesmatter thuggery is bad, this kind of act is a harbinger of thuggery to come if Clinton is given the power of the presidency.
Take a Valium.
It isn’t a harbinger of anything. It is the middle of a long hot summer and I’ll bet a bunch of bored teenagers with nothing to do torched it. It was one hell of a target. If the detectives pursue this, they will get one or more to talk.
Do you approve of trespassing and theft when of peoples property just because you don’t like what they put up?
I know a fellow who has had that done to him. The next time, the thief will be on hidden camera.
It’s idiots like you and the #neverTrumpers that are encouraging and committing these criminal acts.
Another good one, Leslie. When Lefties cannot discuss issues, they resort to slash and burn.
You have proof it was a ‘Lefty’? Have you contacted the detectives on the case? Called Crime Stoppers?
Martin, do your duty!
If you can think of anyone other than a lefty with a motive to do such a thing then please point it out.
It ALWAYS turns out to be lefties doing these kind of things.
So much so, they even do it to themselves so they can falsely accuse others.
We see instances of leftie false flags on a regular basis.
You have a point, but they haven’t been caught yet. I will change “Lefty” to “Anti-Trump Activists or their followers”, to include lefties, Elite Establishment Republicans, other Republicans who are conservative but would rather hand the White House to Crooked Hillary than admit personal defeat, DNC activists, Black Lives Matter, and the usual suspects who would deny any free speech unless it agrees with their whacko beliefs.
Most “hate crimes” in recent years have turned out to be attention-seeking exercises staged by the “victims” (or their allies) themselves. I hope that doesn’t turn out to be the case here, but you never know.
And although it’s mainly “progressives” who play that game, it’s not always: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1080189/Young-Republican-claimed-Obama-supporter-carved-letter-B-face-robbery-story-police-say.html
Completely bias story, that girl was nuts, her political views were irrelevant.