A week out, no leads in assault of artist who created naked Trump painting

A week after Illma Gore, the Los Angeles artist who became an Internet sensation after painting an image of a nude Donald Trump, was allegedly assaulted by a Trump supporter, there are no leads on who the culprits may have been.

"This is what we term a whodunit," said an LAPD public information officer. "Unfortunately, all we have is that he was a guy and he was white and he was about 25 years old. If the victim had gotten something from the license plate or something, we could follow up."

Gore says that last Friday she was walking on a side street in the vicinity of La Cienega and Pico boulevards near her home when a Honda Civic with three men pulled up beside her. One of the men got out, she said, punched her in the face and shouted "Trump 2016." The men then fled.

"I've gotten so many threats," she said via telephone. "It's possible they knew who I was. People have picked me out before and identified me."

Gore said she immediately filed a report at the LAPD's Wilshire Division (a copy of which she supplied to The Times).

In the wake of the alleged assault, the artist posted images of her bruised face to Instagram, along with a caption that read: "Though I encourage passion, opinion and emotion, especially though art, I think violence is disgusting." The post quickly drew more than a 1,000 comments — many supportive, others critical.

In a second Instagram dispatch, she asks any potential witnesses to come forward: "If anyone saw anything on La Cienega on Friday, please let the local authorities know. Black Honda Civic with a group of people in the car."

When Gore first posted her Trump painting to the Internet three months ago, it immediately garnered saturation media coverage. She says it also generated numerous threats of violence. And she is concerned that the attacker may have found her through Facebook.

Late last month, she received a notice from the social media service stating that her painting violated the Digital Millennium Copyright Act — even though, as the creator of the work, she is the true copyright holder. To challenge the claim, Gore said she was required to enter her home address and other personal information into the system.

"I had to send my address, my email, my statement countering the claim and a consent to things being sent to the courts," she said. 

A spokesperson at Facebook, however, said that Gore's information was not shared with other parties.

Asked if there have been other altercations or assaults related to Trump supporters in Los Angeles, the LAPD spokesperson stated: "Not to my knowledge. ...There's nothing that indicates that has been happening."

Gore's nude, meanwhile, was most recently on view at a gallery in London.

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