Delaware university shuts down online art exhibit after submission features Trump beheading

Wilmington University in Delaware shut down an online art show after one of its submissions depicted violence against President Donald Trump.

What are the details?

The submission, a parody of Italian painter Caravaggio's 16th century "Judith and Holofernes" (pictured above) showed Lady Liberty cutting off Trump's head.

Jennie Williams, the student artist, featured the submission in the school's online art show, which began Jan. 13 and is slated to run through Feb. 14.

In a statement, Joe Aviola, the college's senior director of administrative and legal affairs, said the submission "did not meet the university's values" and that it was not protected under "expression of speech" because of its overt violence.

"It's more violent than it is expression of speech," he explained, pointing out that there were no specific guidelines for submissions.

You can see a screenshot of the controversial artwork here.

What else?

The Delaware News Journal reported that John Flaherty, president of the Delaware Coalition for Open Government, said that if there are not explicit guidelines prohibiting such art, all submissions should be displayed.

"Even violent inappropriate art pieces should be judged for what they are," Flaherty argued. "You ought to have controversial pieces submitted. That's part of being an artist."

Aviola added, "In hindsight, we maybe should've had some other people review it" before posting it.

The school opted to remove the submission from its online portal on Tuesday after an anonymous complaint.