Artist goes to court to save patriotic mural

By The Associated Press

10.26.01

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Artist Mike McNeilly stands in front of his mural that hangs from Westwood Medical Building in Los Angeles on Oct. 23.

LOS ANGELES — The city was sued Oct. 23 for allegedly violating an artist’s free-speech rights by ordering him to take down a giant patriotic mural displayed on an office building after the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

Artist Mike McNeilly put up the nearly 10-story-tall banner on the Westwood Medical Building, with the owner’s permission.

Titled “9-11,” the flameproof canvas had images of a New York City firefighter, an American flag, the Statue of Liberty’s face and the World Trade Center and the words “God Bless America.”

But on Sept. 21, the city ordered him to remove the mural, alleging he had violated 24 ordinances related to commercial signs.

“They combed through the statute book and then threw it at Mr. McNeilly,” said Dan Tokaji, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, which filed the suit. “If history teaches us anything, it teaches us that our most basic values are most at risk in times of crisis. ... They are especially important now.”

However, the city attorney’s office said McNeilly is anything but an abused patriot.

“It is a beautiful piece of art,” said spokesman Ben Austin. “We support his right to display this art, just not illegally.”

Austin said McNeilly “cynically took advantage of the national tragedy to further his financial interests by putting up this mural.”

McNeilly recently replaced the mural with one that includes the face of a female Marine, the Statue of Liberty, World Trade Center and the words “Liberty and Justice 9-11.”

Still, he remains accused of violating a citywide anti-blight ban on new billboards. The ACLU suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, calls on a judge to order the city to allow the mural to remain and to strike down the blanket prohibition on new signs.

It isn’t the first time McNeilly has clashed with officials. He was charged with misdemeanor counts in 1999 after partially painting a 120-foot-high mural of the Statue of Liberty on the same building. When authorities stopped him from completing it, he added the word “CENSORED” to the sign.

The case was dismissed earlier this year. McNeilly has a lawsuit against the city pending in federal court.