A New York-based activist group successfully pushed in 2023 to have a historic painting depicting Jesus Christ covered up at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, where it had been proudly displayed for 76 years without incident. The alleged motivation behind this act of iconoclasm, which resulted in the painting's exile to the building's flood-prone basement, was to create "a welcoming environment."

When Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy signaled earlier this month that the painting might soon make a triumphant return, Mikey Weinstein, the head of the iconoclastic activist group, let his mask slip, revealing there might be some prejudices lurking behind his iconoclastic campaign.

Weinstein, the president of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, whom Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) previously dubbed an "anti-Christian activist," viciously attacked Duffy, Trump supporters, and midshipmen supportive of the painting's return in a statement shared with the Christian Post and the Daily Kos.

"tRump's [sic] Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is clearly bereft of any semblance of morality, ethical standard, or constitutional legality (obviously required with all MAGA filthy, ignorant, hateful, bigoted scum) and is merely throwing rotting dripping, fetid, red meat to the Christian Nationalist MAGA fascists in America, who are clearly sprinkled among the USMVA midshipmen, staff and faculty," wrote Weinstein.

The activist, whose demand in 2023 USSMA Superintendent Vice Admiral Joanna Nunan apparently took seriously, added, "Duffy is simply a stray, feral dog, lifting his leg and urinating a rancid fundamentalist Christian fealty on what MAGA fascists now apparently view as a front yard lawn toy rather than an honored cornerstone of the defense of our constitutionally created secular democratic republic."

The painting

The painting that has Weinstein all bothered is a heritage asset under the U.S. Department of Transportation Maritime Administration titled "Christ on the Water."

According to the USMMA, the 10'x19' painting "depicts an image of Jesus and merchant seamen adrift in a lifeboat, presumably after being torpedoed in the Indian Ocean during World War II."

'The painting is perfectly in keeping with the Establishment Clause.'

It was painted on sail canvas by Lt. Hunter Wood in 1944 as a tribute to all merchant seamen.

Wood joined the U.S. Coast Guard with the rank of chief boatswain's mate 10 days after the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. He saw action during the invasion of North Africa in late 1942. Wood subsequently served as an artist in the Coast Guard Combat Artist Unit. He later joined the U.S. Maritime Service, with which he remained until the end of the war, advancing to lieutenant commander.

Wood's painting hung for seven decades in the Elliot M. See Room of the USMMA's Wiley Hall, which served from 1942 to 1961 as an interfaith chapel.

The complaint

The academy indicated that in early January 2023, it received a complaint about "Christ on the Water," suggesting it somehow sent an "improper message of preferred faithin violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment of the Constitution."

Weinstein, claiming to represent 18 midshipmen, faculty, staff, and graduates at the academy, demanded in a Jan. 10 letter obtained by the Christian Post that Nunan "expeditiously remove a massive, sectarian painting illustrating the supremacy of Jesus Christ."

"The outrageousness of that Jesus painting's display is only further exacerbated by the fact that this room is also used regularly for USMMA Honor Code violation boards where midshipmen are literally fighting for their careers, and, often even more, as they face the shameful ignominy of potential expulsion with prejudice if found guilty of USMMA Honor Code violations," wrote the activist.

Initially, the academy decided to keep the painting up but discontinue use of the room for official business. Accordingly, members of the community interested in viewing the painting were free to do so. Those who shared Weinstein's hostility were free to avoid the painting altogether.

On Jan. 26, 2023, the academy — which supplies some officers to the U.S. military, at least 70% of which is Christian — announced that it had chosen to cover the painting with curtains and install a plaque describing the work's history.

"The curtains will remain closed when official Academy meetings and events are conducted," said the statement. "This solution balances legal requirements with the concerns of those who have an interest in the painting."

The decision to oblige the iconoclasts prompted a petition and letters to Nunan from various lawmakers, including Banks and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) demanding the painting's unveiling.

Cruz noted:

The relevant constitutional question is whether the Academy's display of the painting meets the requirements of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. As a long-standing display that is consistent with the history and tradition of the United States and its Maritime Service, it clearly does. Under the Supreme Court's standard for long-standing government displays, the painting is perfectly in keeping with the Establishment Clause.

Banks similarly underscored the lawfulness of hanging the painting in the academy, referring to a 2019 Supreme Court ruling that "historic displays with religious symbolism are not a violation of the Constitution."

'Let's let him out! Bring him up!'

Despite the backlash and indications that the removal was wholly unnecessary, multiple sources told Fox News Digital that the painting was moved to a chapel basement prone to flooding.

The return

During his April 4 visit to the academy, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy addressed a room full of midshipmen. During his speech, he signaled support for the painting's return, stating, "Can we bring Jesus up from the basement?"

The audience burst into cheers, while scores of midshipmen leaped to their feet, applauding.

Duffy, a devout Catholic, continued, "Let's not put Jesus in the basement. Let's let him out! Bring him up!"

Since the USMMA falls under Duffy's purview, he is apparently able to restore the painting to its rightful place in the academy — something his predecessor, Pete Buttigieg, proved unwilling to do.

The academy's Christian Fellowship Club launched a petition on April 7 to permanently move the painting into Ackerman Auditorium.

'I think we're returning to objective truth.'

The petition notes that "moving the painting to the Museum damns it. It declares, 'This is who the Merchant Marine used to be once upon a time long long ago.'"

"We declare to you, faculty and staff, that this painting represents the Regiment of Midshipmen today more so than ever before," said the petition. "Here us now: We identify with those sailors."

The tantrum

Unlike those gathered at the academy, Weinstein responded poorly to Duffy's remarks, going so far as to dehumanize midshipmen who dared signal support for the painting's return.

"To the cheering robustious throngs of Christian Nationalist midshipmen at the U.S. Merchant of Venice Academy, and to their dear MAGA fascist cheerleader Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy, MRFF commands: 'Side Step HARCH!,' you stinking piece-of-s**t Christian Nationalist insects," wrote the activist.

Weinstein added in his statement that the return of the painting would "spark WORLD WAR 8."

The activist continued ranting in an unhinged YouTube video, where he suggested that midshipmen's cheering of Duffy was a "despicable, shameful disgrace of [their] oath to the U.S. Constitution" and characterized their support for the DOT secretary's remarks as cowardly.

"Jesus Christ represents ideals that are not specific to one group of people or another," Jackson Tolle, a midshipman in USMMA's class of 2026, told the Christian Post. "Ideals of sacrifice, ideals of love, compassion, and empathy; these are ideals and traits that we, as a culture, need to return to."

"Moral relativism has failed the country and the world, more so than any belief system ever really has," continued Tolle. "I think we're returning to objective truth."

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