Jenny Kane

jkane@rgj.com

Editor's note: This story has been updated since its original publication to reflect new information.

While there are a lot of colorful murals along Dickerson Road, none is quite as controversial as a new one that appears to compare President Donald Trump to terrorist Osama bin Laden, who orchestrated the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the U.S.

"The Donald Bin Laden" is painted in red, white and blue block letters about 5 feet high on the back of 2245 Dickerson Road. It's visible from West Fourth Street across the train tracks.

There is no signature on the painting, other than one that was already there for another mural painted just below. The painting has been visible for more than a week, but no one has publicly claimed it as their work.

The owners of the building, REAS Dickerson LLC, said on Saturday that they had not been aware of the painting but recently reached out to the city to have the painting removed. The owners do not know who painted it, according to one of the partners, John Spinola.

Surrounding business owners have mixed feelings about the political statement.

"I haven't' even seen it yet, I just heard about it through social media," said Zac Bryson, who runs a carpentry business, Second Nature Manufacture. "I'm somewhat indifferent. I try to stay our of the political atmosphere, but I like it when artists take a stand."

Many of the businesses on Dickerson Road, an industrial area that abuts the train tracks, are filled with arts spaces, including a pottery studio, several painting studios and a recording studio.

"I like it. It's just letters," said Mike "Mechanic" Hafey, who runs a multi-arts space in a connected building that has a medley of murals on its front facade.

Dickerson Road music studio shut down after code violations

Amodei's faith in Trump not shaken by Russian allegations

Down a few buildings, the Lucido brothers run CoAuto, an auto repair shop that has an art gallery in its lobby.

"Bin Laden is much more feared than Donald Trump. I don't think it's good for our community to portray bin Laden in any way. Nor is it good to degrade Donald Trump, especially considering he's our president now," said co-owner Vinnie Lucido. "You can hate Donald Trump all you want, but it is not going to change that he's president. We need to unite and we need to work together. To be united states, we've got to accept it and work with it. I wish the painting would go away."

While the city's public works crews do have a running list of graffiti to cover, work cannot be considered simply because it is offensive to someone else, Hill said. Either the property has to be the city's, or the building owner has to approve the cover-up before the city will consider it.