{"id":220844,"date":"2026-04-06T17:56:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T17:56:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/220844\/"},"modified":"2026-04-06T17:56:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T17:56:10","slug":"musk-funded-murals-of-slain-ukranian-refugee-pop-up-in-miami","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/220844\/","title":{"rendered":"Musk-Funded Murals of Slain Ukranian Refugee Pop Up in Miami"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fort Lauderdale artist Jean-Claude De L\u2019Herbe<\/a> says he doesn\u2019t care much for political figures like Elon Musk. <\/p>\n

But when an opportunity arose to paint a mural funded by the tech entrepreneur \u2014 and to get paid well for it \u2014 he didn\u2019t hesitate.<\/p>\n

De L\u2019Herbe tells New Times he worked with several other artists in late February to design and paint a mural of Ukranian refugee Iryna Zarutska, who was stabbed to death on a light rail train in North Carolina last year. Painted on the side of Big Louie\u2019s Pizzeria in Fort Lauderdale and overlooking East Sunrise Boulevard, the mural features a large spray-painted portrait of the young woman\u2019s face.<\/p>\n

You might be wondering: if Zarutska died in North Carolina, why is there a mural of her all the way down in South Florida?<\/p>\n

The mural appears to be part of a nationwide campaign<\/a> funded in part by Musk and other conservative donors, who contributed more than $1 million to commission large-scale murals of Zarutska in cities across the country. The effort has drawn backlash in some cities, where critics say it politicizes Zarutska\u2019s death.<\/p>\n

\"AThe murals have sparked controversy across the country.<\/p>\n

Photo by Jean-Claude De L\u2019Herbe<\/p>\n

Last August, Zarutska was fatally attacked while traveling home on public transportation from her job at a local pizzeria. Her alleged killer, Decarlos Brown Jr., has a history of serious mental health issues<\/a>\u00a0and was previously arrested 14 times; his mother told the\u00a0Charlotte Observer<\/a>\u00a0that Brown believed he was being controlled by a chip in his head.<\/p>\n

Zarutska\u2019s death was quickly politicized, with president Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and their MAGA allies using the killing to attack Democrats\u2019 \u201csoft on crime\u201d policies. President Donald Trump called for the death penalty for Brown, whom he called an \u201cANIMAL.\u201d<\/a> Zarutska\u2019s mother, Anna Zarutska, was later recognized<\/a> by Trump during his State of the Union address, where she sat next to Erika Kirk, the widow of slain conservative commentator Charlie Kirk.<\/p>\n

Several weeks after her death, Trump supporter and tech CEO Eoghan McCabe announced<\/a>\u00a0on X (formerly known as Twitter) that he would pay artists $10,000 a piece to paint murals of Zarutska\u2019s face in cities all over the country. The initiative was funded with an additional $1 million donated by Musk<\/a>. In a post on X, manosphere influencer and self-described misogynist Andrew Tate also pledged <\/a>$1 million.<\/p>\n

De L\u2019Herbe says he discovered the initiative online, submitted examples of his work, and went through an application and contract process.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got a response from someone in January saying, \u2018Do you have a wall we can select?’\u201d he tells New Times. \u201cI really thought it was a scam. I didn\u2019t believe it until the person got the money wired to my account.\u201d<\/p>\n

De L\u2019Herbe declined to disclose the exact amount he was paid for the mural but said it was \u201ca large amount.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was nice,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Since late last year, murals of Zarutska have popped up in places like Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Providence, Rhode Island, Fort Lauderdale, and Miami. While supporters have framed the initiative as a memorial for the young woman, the murals have become somewhat of a political flashpoint \u2014 echoing the national debate that followed her death. People criticized the murals as \u201cpropaganda<\/a>,\u201d with some accusing their financial backers of \u201cexploiting\u201d<\/a> Zarutska\u2019s death to push a broader political agenda. <\/p>\n

De L\u2019Herbe emphasizes that for him, however, the work was never political, but \u201cjust a job.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople drink wine in front of paintings, and they say, \u2018Oh, what was the artist thinking? What is the importance of this?’\u201d De L\u2019Herbe says. \u201cWe\u2019re just trying to eat.\u201d<\/p>\n

He continues: \u201cWe did it because we\u2019re artists, we wanted to get paid, and we wanted to make a beautiful mural.\u201d<\/p>\n

In an Instagram post, De L\u2019Herbe shared a video showing how the mural came together. People appeared to respond positively in the comments. <\/p>\n

\u201c\ud83d\ude4f\ud83d\ude4f\ud83d\ude4f,\u201d one person commented. <\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s beautiful,\u201d another wrote. <\/p>\n

\u201c<3 Rest in peace,\u201d a third replied. <\/p>\n

In December, McCabe posted a photo on X<\/a> showing what appears to be a mural of Zarutska in Miami\u2019s Wynwood neighborhood. He credits the art to Miami-based artist Disem and California-based muralist Matthew Cadoch. Disem declined to comment to New Times, while Cadoch could not be reached.<\/p>\n

Neither artist responded to New Times\u2018 request for comment via Instagram DM. <\/p>\n

McCabe\u2019s chief of staff told the Guardian that the project was \u201cfunded by\u00a0Elon Musk\u00a0($1m), Eoghan McCabe ($500k), and a long list of smaller donors ($200k)\u201d. McCabe raised<\/a> more than $104,000 in donations on GiveSendGo, which bills itself as a \u201cChristian\u201d alternative to sites like GoFundMe.<\/p>\n

Neither McCabe\u2019s chief of staff nor Musk responded to New Times\u2018 request for comment via email.<\/p>\n

In a previous statement to the Guardian, McCabe wrote that \u201cour murals aim to memorialize the story of an innocent young woman who was killed in a horrific, senseless crime.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nonetheless, the murals have sparked controversy across the country. <\/p>\n

After a mural of Zarutska popped up on a building in Brooklyn, one graphic artist who lives near the Bushwick mural\u00a0told<\/a>\u00a0the New York Post: \u201cThis woman \u2013 it\u2019s unfortunate what happened to her \u2013 but how do you connect her to Bushwick? A lot of people around here don\u2019t like [Elon Musk] so maybe this is his way to use his money to stick it to us.\u201d Days after the mural went up, \u201cFuck Trump\u201d graffiti reportedly<\/a> appeared in its lower corner.<\/p>\n

In Providence, Rhode Island, where artists recently began working on a mural of Zarutska on the side of a popular Providence LGBTQ+ nightclub, the club announced in a\u00a0social media post<\/a>\u00a0Monday evening that management decided to discontinue the mural and \u201cmove forward with removal as soon as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

This came after Democratic politicians, including Providence mayor Brett Smiley, called for its removal<\/a>, labeling it divisive.<\/p>\n

Rhode Island State Rep. David Morales, who is running for mayor of Providence, criticized the motivations of those backing the project and said the mural \u201cdoes not reflect our values\u201d (to which Musk asked<\/a> on X: \u201cWhat are his values?\u201d) <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re seeing a right-wing movement that is exploiting the death of the refugee for the purposes of trying to spread division,\u201d Morales said<\/a>. <\/p>\n

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