The Wall of Shame: A Public Installation Highlighting the Crimes of Trump's Pardoned Supporters

Strategic Insights -

On 4 July, artist Phil Buehler launched the Wall of Shame, a 50ft-long, 10ft-tall outdoor mural in Bushwick, Brooklyn, New York, featuring the stories and alleged crimes of over 1,575 individuals pardoned by Donald Trump for their involvement in the January 6 2021 attack on the US Capitol. The mural, a part of Buehler's art against autocracy trilogy, aims to document and highlight the actions of those who were pardoned, including violent rioters, property damage perpetrators, and individuals who denied the legitimacy of President Joe Biden.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Wall of Shame is a public installation featuring the stories and alleged crimes of over 1,575 individuals pardoned by Donald Trump for their involvement in the January 6 2021 attack on the US Capitol.
  • The mural is part of Buehler's art against autocracy trilogy, which began in 2020 with the Wall of Lies, a 50ft mural displaying more than 20,000 lies told by Trump during his first term in office.
  • The Wall of Shame features a color-coding system, where violent rioters are depicted in red, those who damaged property in blue, and the remaining individuals in white, creating a Star and Stripes-like mural that has imploded.
  • Guy Reffitt, 48, from Wylie, Texas, allegedly told his family that he had taken his gun to the US Capitol on January 6 and said to his child: "If you turn me in, you're a traitor. And you know what happens to traitors. Traitors get shot."
  • Pamela Hemphill, 68, from Boise, Idaho, refused Trump's pardon and expressed remorse, describing the police as "heroes" and the rioters as "very dangerous people".
  • The project aims to foster solidarity and courage among those who oppose authoritarianism and to reclaim a national symbol from its co-option by Trump supporters.
  • Trump has been waging war on reality for a decade, conjuring a mirror world in which up is down and black is white, and has described the January 6 rioters as patriots and martyrs while dismissing those who protested against immigration enforcement raids in LA as "insurrectionists".
  • Rob Prichard of Radio Free Brooklyn, who suggested the project, finds something Orwellian in Trump's attempts to rewrite history and dominate the cultural space.

Statistics:

  • Over 1,575 individuals were pardoned by Donald Trump for their involvement in the January 6 2021 attack on the US Capitol.
  • The Wall of Shame features a 50ft-long, 10ft-tall outdoor mural.
  • The mural was created using 100 hours of research by National Public Radio (NPR) and formatting of the rioters' stories, charges, and sentences.
  • About 500 pictures were tracked down by Buehler's friend, with only about 10 still missing.
  • 1,500 individuals were granted clemency by Trump on his first day back in office for their connection with the January 6 insurrection.
  • 100 and forty cops were hurt during the January 6 riots.
  • 91-year-old Rob Prichard's mother is German and was forced to join Hitler's youth movement when she was seven years old.

Sources:

  • Buehler, P. (2022). Wall of Shame. [No publication information]
  • National Public Radio (NPR).
  • Radio Free Brooklyn.
  • Southard-Rumsey, A. (2022). Meet Phil Buehler, The Artist Who Created The Wall of Shame.
  • Prichard, R. (2022). An Interview with Rob Prichard of Radio Free Brooklyn.