poster="http://v.politico.com/images/1155968404/201701/765/1155968404_5277140596001_5277130069001-vs.jpg?pubId=1155968404" true CBC: ‘We may just have to kick somebody’s ass’ over painting removal A row between the Congressional Black Caucus and House Republicans over artwork depicting police as animals escalates. 
 
 A spat between black lawmakers and Republicans over a painting on display in the Capitol got uglier Tuesday after multiple GOP lawmakers removed the painting for the second time in a week — and the chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus suggested supporters of displaying the painting "may just have to kick somebody's ass." 
 
 The painting, by a high school student from the district that encompasses Ferguson, Mo., addresses strife that erupted between African-Americans and police after the death of Michael Brown. It shows police officers with animal heads and faces pointing guns at black citizens. A sign in the background reads "racism kills." It was selected as part of a competition that displays art projects in the Capitol. 
 
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 Critics say it depicts cops as "pigs" and doesn't belong hung in the Capitol. But supporters say it's a matter of free expression and Constitutional rights, and its Democratic defenders are venting increasingly pointed frustrations at attempts to remove the artwork without permission. 
 
 "We may just have to kick somebody's ass and stop them," said Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-La.), chairman of the CBC. 
 
 The comment, by Richmond came after Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.) yanked the painting from the Capitol hallway for the second time in a week and returned it to the office of Rep. Lacy Clay, whose district includes Ferguson. The canvas had only just been rehung Tuesday morning after being removed last week by California Republican Rep. Duncan Hunter. 
 
 On Tuesday, CBC members held a ceremony to re-hang it, snapping pictures of the event and daring Republicans to take it down again — and Lamborn obliged. 
 
 “Just yesterday, we honored Law Enforcement Appreciation Day. I could not, in good conscience, continue to walk by a painting that so flagrantly disrespected the brave police officers that protect us here in the Capitol and in our communities across the country," said Lamborn in a statement. "I decided to continue the protest started by my colleague Congressman Hunter and I hope that permanent action is taken to remove this brazen attack on the brave men and women who make up the thin blue line.” 
 
 After Clay hung the painting for a second time in one day, two additional Republicans joined what they dubbed a "protest" to take it down in honor of police. 
 
 “Today I joined Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (Calif.) in taking down this offensive and disrespectful artwork hanging in [the] tunnel of [the] Capitol,” tweeted Rep. Brian Babin (Texas), linking to a picture of the two Republicans holding the painting. 
 
 A visibly frustrated Clay told POLITICO he'll be seeking a meeting with Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) to address the conflict, saying the repeated removals reflect a "lack of civility and decorum on the part of members of the majority party of this House." 
 
 "Lamborn came over, brought the picture to me, and I made sure he left swiftly from my office," Clay said. "I’m in the middle of meetings in my office and he brings the picture. It’s a lack of decorum and respect for people’s constituents and people’s First Amendment rights. This kid has a right to express on canvas what he feels. How dare you try to stifle that, try to censor that. That’s wrong." 
 
 Richmond said any escalation of the issue might "open up Pandora's Box." 
 
 “I’m looking at some paintings that people could probably find some offense to," he said. "So you just open up Pandora’s Box to, I think, anarchy when it comes to the art around this building.” 
 
 “I think it would be a bad move. I think politically it would be an awful move to do that," he continued. 
 
 Republicans don't seem prepared to hear their arguments: Ryan personally assured GOP members early Tuesday that the painting would be coming down. 
 
 Leadership, however, would like it removed through an official process: Longtime police chief David Reichert (R-Wash.) wrote a letter to the Architect of the Capitol arguing that the painting does not comply with the rules of the U.S. Congressional Art Competition and should be removed. Those rules point to House policies that prohibit “exhibits depicting subjects of contemporary political controversy or a sensationalistic or gruesome nature.” 
 
 “While it is not the intent to censor any artwork, we do wish to avoid artwork that is potentially inappropriate for display in this highly traveled area leading to the Capitol,” the rules state. 
 
 “We looked up the rules for the art competition: You’re not allowed to have paintings that are sensationally divisive,” Hunter told POLITICO. “Basically the rules don’t allow for things like this.” 
 
 Hunter said that Ryan (R-Wis.) and Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) assured the GOP conference that should the architect disagree with Republicans, GOP leadership will overrule him, which is their prerogative as the majority party. They would do so with an official vote on the House Office Building Commission, a panel composed of Ryan, McCarthy and Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). 
 
 “There’s general consensus that the painting needs to be addressed, and there will be formal mechanisms by which it will be addressed," said AshLee Strong, a spokeswoman for Ryan. Strong declined to comment on what the next steps would be and deferred to Reichert's office. 
 
 Leadership's involvement could drastically escalate the issue. It is unlikely that Democrats will back down from their demands that the painting be left alone. 
 
 Clay even tried to file a police report against Hunter for theft when he took down the painting. The U.S. Capitol Police, which did not like the painting and thanked Hunter for its removal, refused to take the complaint. Asked whether he intended to return to the police about Lamborn's removal, Clay said, "Don't ask me about that." 
 
 At the end of the day, Hunter tweeted a picture of himself shaking hands with Clay, writing: "Even though we disagree we're still friends." ||||| Student Painting Depicting Cops As Animals Sparks Tensions On Capitol Hill 
 
 Enlarge this image toggle caption Zach Gibson/AP Zach Gibson/AP 
 
 A group of Republican lawmakers, backed by law enforcement advocates, are engaged in an increasingly aggressive public clash with members of the Congressional Black Caucus over a high school work of art depicting police officers with animal heads. 
 
 The latest chapter unfolded on Tuesday when Rep. William Lacy Clay, D-Mo., held a rehanging ceremony for a painting that had been taken down last Friday by his GOP colleague, Rep. Duncan Hunter of California. 
 
 "This is really not about a student art competition anymore. It's about defending the Constitution," Clay said, flanked by members of the Congressional Black Caucus. 
 
 By Tuesday afternoon, a duo of GOP lawmakers, Reps. Dana Rohrabacher of California and Brian Babin of Texas, had removed it from the wall again and carried it back to Clay's congressional office. 
 
 The painting, Untitled #1, by former Missouri high school student David Pulphus, has been on display in a well-trafficked Capitol hallway since June 2016. 
 
 Pulphus is a resident of Clay's congressional district which includes Ferguson, Mo., a town marked by civil unrest after the 2014 shooting of Michael Brown, a black 18-year-old, by a white police officer, Darren Wilson. 
 
 Investigators concluded the shooting was lawful, that Wilson had committed no civil rights violations, and that he acted in self-defense. But what happened in Ferguson has been part of an ongoing national debate about race relations with law enforcement and the criminal justice system. 
 
 Clay said Pulphus' painting offers a glimpse into how a young man views the world. "It's a collage of different scenes that this kid has experienced over the last five years," he said. 
 
 Pulphus' work was one of hundreds of winners in the annual Congressional Arts Competition. Since 1982, more than 650,000 high school students have taken part in the nationwide contest. In each congressional district, students submit artwork for a panel of local judges. The winners are put on display, above their local congressman's name, in the Capitol for one year. 
 
 It is one of the more wholesome — and staid — traditions of Congress, rarely drawing any media attention beyond glowing local coverage of area students. 
 
 But Pulphus' painting caught the attention in recent weeks of number of conservative media outlets, which prompted criticism from some law enforcement groups, which then sparked outrage from a growing number of Republican lawmakers. 
 
 One of those lawmakers was Rep. Duncan Hunter Jr., R-Calif., a former Marine, who took it upon himself last week to remove the painting from the hallway and deliver it back to Clay's office. Hunter, who is white, argued the painting is disrespectful to law enforcement, and violates rules that govern what is acceptable art to hang in the Capitol complex. 
 
 A resolute Hunter offered no apologies on Tuesday. "It was something that had to be done," he said, "So I just did it." 
 
 The unusually public display of antagonism among lawmakers is disappointing to Rep. Dave Reichert, R-Wash., a retired King County sheriff. "I was cop for 33 years, and that's not how you solve problems," said Reichert. 
 
 Reichert shares Hunter's objections to the painting being on display in the Capitol. But he had been working, quietly, to open up a dialogue with Clay about his concerns. 
 
 As a lawmaker, Reichert has been working to improve relations between police and the communities they serve. He is one of a bipartisan group of lawmakers that have traveled to cities like Detroit and Atlanta to meet with community leaders, and he has held hearings on these issues. He's also worked with civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., to try and set an example of how to talk about an issue that often differs sharply along racial lines. He worries that the Hunter-Clay clash isn't helping his cause. "It's going to create further division," he said. 
 
 Whether or not the painting will remain on display is an open question. 
 
 With support from party leadership, Reichert is asking the Architect of the Capitol, the steward of the Capitol grounds, to review and make a decision on whether the painting meets standards outlined by the House Office Building Commission. Those rules prohibit displaying artwork that depicts "subjects of contemporary political controversy or a sensationalistic or gruesome nature." 
 
 Clay countered that the paintings have already been approved for display. 
 
 "Know that the Building Commission already approved all of this artwork on this wall," he said. Clay also argued that while the street scene was a reflection of modern tensions, there was a deeper context: "The African-American community has had a painful, tortured history with law enforcement in this country. So let's not ignore the fact, that that's not contemporary. That's historic." 
 
 No matter what, Pulphus' painting will come down this year. The next round of high school art contest winners will be announced this spring, and the winning entries will go on display this summer. 
 
 An NPR search found only one other incident of controversy in the art competition's nearly 35-year history. 
 
 The Orlando Sentinel reported in 1997 that a high school senior's painting won a first round of competition in the district, but it was ultimately rejected for submission, and never made it to the Capitol hallway. The painting was deemed "too racy" because it depicted a woman with an open blouse.
– For six months, Untitled #1 hung in a hallway of the Capitol among hundreds of other winning artworks from the high school Congressional Arts Competition without much fuss. Then came a tug-of-war. The painting by Missouri's David Pulphus—a collage of scenes, showing two police officers with what appear to be warthog heads pointing guns at a civilian with the head of a wolf—became the subject of debate between the Congressional Black Caucus and Republican lawmakers this week after Rep. Duncan Hunter, a Republican from California, chose to remove it on Friday, reports NPR. Rep. Lacy Clay, a Democrat from Missouri, replaced it Tuesday, only to find it removed again that same day. It was again replaced, and again taken down, reports Politico. Hunter and others argue the painting—also depicting a black face behind bars and a sign reading "racism kills"—is an insult to police and violates House Office Building Commission rules banning artwork with "subjects of contemporary political controversy or a sensationalistic or gruesome nature." Speaker Paul Ryan, who sits on the commission, told Republicans the painting would be permanently removed. Clay, however, says the painting was approved before it became part of a year-long installation in June 2016. He adds police shootings of black men in Pulphus' community—including that of Michael Brown in 2014—were "animalistic in nature" and the painting, along with artwork depicting slaveholders, should be allowed given the right to free expression, per the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.