A mural honoring Iryna Zarutska – a Ukrainian refugee horrifically murdered in plain sight on a North Carolina train – has been taken down following bouts of leftist outrage.
The mural hung in Providence, Rhode Island, on a building shared by The Dark Lady, an LGBT club. The artist, Ian Gaudreau, confirmed to WJAR-TV that it was taken down after people “voiced their frustrations.” Such critics included Providence Mayor Brett Smiley, asserting that the artwork is “divisive and does not represent Providence.” He also took issue with the fact that it was, in part, backed by Elon Musk, who donated to the nationwide effort of commissioning such murals across the United States.
“I regret the state of where we are in politics today where absolutely everything is political and controversial and hard,” Smiley said.
He continued, “There’s nothing we should be doing to take away from the tragedy of the loss of life represented here, but then it was distorted by an erroneous tweet by our president and then a movement was funded by some right-wing billionaires, and it found its way to our community.”
Smiley also concluded the image was not bringing the community together, pointing to “really angry protests on both sides” and “a lot of hate speech online.”
The owners of the bar itself initially defended the mural after backlash, contending that it was simply about remembrance and honoring a life. They also made clear that they are Democrats who do not support President Trump or his administration.
The controversy came months after the murder of Zarutska, who was stabbed in a random attack on August 22, 2025. The accused, Decarlos Brown Jr., has a lengthy criminal record, having over a dozen prior arrests. The attack put a national spotlight on the Democrat Party’s soft-on-crime policies, allowing criminals to run rampant, often releasing them and giving them the opportunity to reoffend or do worse.
In fact, hundreds of the criminals, including murderers and rapists, released by former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) went on to reoffend. Eighteen of those released by Cooper have since been charged with murder, as Breitbart News detailed.