The fate of the naked Donald Trump statue that made a splash in the Castro two weeks ago remains unknown, as SFPD is now refusing to release the statue to Union Square pub Lefty O'Doul's, which was aiming to display it through Election Day.
According to Lee Houskeeper, a representative for the bar, Lefty O'Doul's owner Nick Bovis had offered to pay all vandalism fines associated with the statue in order to obtain it. However, police are refusing to release the statue to anyone but INDECLINE, the anarchist collective that commissioned it and four other identical statues that appeared around the country on the morning of August 18th.
In the hopes of getting the statue released, artist Joshua “Ginger” Monroe, who created all five "Emperor Has No Balls" statues for INDECLINE, submitted a signed affidavit to SFPD, stating that he is the artist behind and owner of the work. Houskeeper says they declined to accept it.
We reached out to INDECLINE to ask if they had any plans to retrieve the statue themselves. They responded with this statement:
INDECLINE chose to place one of the 5 statues in SF, specifically the Castro, based on the city's vibrant history, amazing local culture and commitment to political art, independent thinking and activism.
SFPD's decision to keep the statue in custody, subsequently denying the city its chance and its right to weigh in on its stance against this piece of shit political candidate Trump, is an abomination and they should be completely ashamed of themselves. This is not the SF we know and love. This is cowardice.
Bovis had been working to secure the statue for Lefty O'Doul's in time for a visit by Monroe, who'll be in town this evening. But while the bar wasn't able to obtain the full-size statue, Monroe will be bringing along a replica of its head as an alternative. Locals are invited to come by Lefty O'Doul's tonight to meet Monroe, snap selfies with the Trump bust, and hear live music from the Irish Newsboys, starting at 7pm.
Monroe, who's returning home tomorrow, has gifted the Trump bust to Houskeeper, who told us he plans to "take him to lunch around town with me until Election Day." The statue's lack of a body may or may not come as a relief to the activists who opposed its reinstallation, arguing that the depiction of the Republican presidential candidate's naked body was offensive to overweight and transgender people.
So what will become of the original statue? Lefty O'Doul's, for one, is no longer interested in putting down cash to pursue it—the bar is "withdrawing its offer to pay the fine," Houskeeper said.
We reached out to District 8 Supervisor Scott Wiener, who had advocated for the statue's reinstallation, to see if he plans to take further action to free it, but have yet to receive a response.
