A controversial painting depicting policemen as pigs will be removed from the U.S. Capitol after the Architect of the Capitol concluded on Friday that it violates standards set by the House Office Buildings Commission. The racially charged student painting, which focuses on the riots that erupted in Ferguson after Michael Brown was fatally shot in 2014, has already triggered a battle between lawmakers. Rep. Lacy Clay, who decided to hang the painting in the U.S. Capitol, had faced off against GOP lawmakers who said the painting was too disrespectful to law enforcement to have on display. Late Friday, Rep. David Reichert’s complaint against the painting appeared to bring the whole saga to a close. Reichert’s office said the Architect of the Capitol has ordered the painting to be removed because it violates a rule that bans artwork depicting “contemporary political controversies.” The painting is now due to be removed Tuesday, according to POLITICO. Reichert praised the decision to take down the artwork that he described as a “slap in the face” to law enforcement. Clay, who has argued that it would be nothing short of censorship to remove the paining, has not yet commented on the news.
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