Tattoo business moves out of rented space due to controversial mural with swastika

    MILWAUKEE (WDJT) -- A mural in Milwaukee near Locust and Holton in Riverwest has been the center of controversy for many days with its message about the war in the Middle East to the point where one business has decided to take measures into their own hands.

Matt Stolzenburg and Aaron Rodgers are the co-owners of Black Dawn Tattoo. Their business is steps away from a mural that depicts a swastika inside the Star of David.

CBS 58 previously spoke to the building's owner, Ihsan Atta. He previously said he wanted the mural to raise awareness for what he called a genocide happening in Gaza.

“Art is provocative a lot of times. There is a point that our property manager is trying to make is very dear to him," Stolzenburg said. “It’s just not led to making this area a more community driven space, it’s led it to be more of a divisive and controversial space, which has never been great for doing tattoos in a safe and welcoming environment.”

There have been multiple acts of vandalism to the mural in the days it's been up in the Riverwest neighborhood. On Sunday, a man removed two panels from the mural. On Friday, black paint covered the swastika.

“I have had multiple security alarms go off because people have been vandalizing the sign," said Rodgers. "We just want a safe place to tattoo and this isn’t it anymore.”

The business owners have created a GoFundMe as they figure out what's next.

In a statement, the Milwaukee Jewish Federation said "This mural is not intended to actually change anything on the ground in Israel and Gaza. It has no capacity to do that. It is only meant to be hurtful to our Holocaust survivors who see it."

The image is located where a mural of Breonna Taylor used to be.

Milwaukee's Common Council has asked Atta to change or remove the mural.

CBS 58 previously talked to the building's owner, he said he is not upset with the vandalism; he will clean it and have the artist touch it up.

"I expected, you know, someone that didn't want the truth to come out to try to stifle the free speech and freedom of expression. I also actually appreciate that they did that, because it only brought more attention to it. Which in turn, will bring more awareness to the genocide going on in Gaza," said Atta.

Atta previously said he has no intention of taking the mural down.