Student's painting depicting police as pigs will be removed from the U.S. Capitol complex

A student art contest painting that depicts protests of police misconduct in Ferguson, Missouri, will be permanently removed from the U.S. Capitol complex after a week of controversy. Painted by a Missouri high schooler, 18-year-old David Pulphus, the scene centrally shows a police officer with the face of a wild pig aiming his gun at a protester who appears to be a dog or wolf.

After winning a congressional art competition hosted by Rep. William Lacy Clay (D-Mo.), the painting was hung in a hallway connecting the Capitol building and two House office buildings. It attracted criticism from congressional Republicans — House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) called the piece "disgusting" — and was first taken down by Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) last week.

Clay and other members of the Congressional Black Caucus put the artwork back up, after which a "Blue Lives Matter" flag appeared on the wall above it. On Friday, the painting was deemed to be in violation of the congressional art competition ban on "depicting subjects of contemporary political controversy or a sensationalistic or gruesome nature," so it will be permanently removed.

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