Just days before President Donald Trump’s birthday in June, an art installation will be erected at the Wisconsin State Capitol – a “satirical First Amendment” pole targeting Trump and his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Chaz Stevens, a South Florida-based provocateur and artist, got a permit from the state Capitol Police to set up his creation in the rotunda. It will be built with custom beer cans with an LED neon heart atop it that reads “Don + Jeff,” he said.
Stevens is calling his piece a “Consentivus” pole, inspired by the holiday of Festivus that can be traced back to the sitcom “Seinfeld” – a tradition that features an aluminum pole and an “airing of grievances.”
The aluminum beer cans Stevens is using to build the 5½-foot tall pole prominently feature the word “CONSENT” and his drawing of Trump’s profile. They also read, “The Official Drink of Felonious Life Choices.”
Stevens plans to install his “Consentivus” pole in the rotunda on June 12, two days before Trump’s birthday.
“I looked around and 10 places that I wanted to put this up to celebrate Flag Day, the President’s birthday, said no,” Stevens said. “Freedom of speech, obviously there’s a tariff on it now. So Wisconsin is my last, final, great hope.”
Emails provided by Stevens show other states denied his request to bring his creation to their state Capitols.
“Upon further review, your request is denied,” a staffer in Iowa wrote after requesting and receiving details on the pole.
Wisconsin’s state facilities access policy details some rules for the state Capitol. For example, it prohibits “stickers, labels, tape, or any other adhesive material that might leave a residue or otherwise damage interior or exterior surfaces.”
And it says that all items or materials must be removed promptly after an exhibit or event.
But Wisconsin officials generally try to avoid policing free speech when it comes to issuing permits for Capitol displays. For example, the Capitol rotunda has at times simultaneously featured a towering Christmas tree, a nativity-like scene that mocks religion and a Festivus pole.
Stevens said his piece would be a freestanding pole set up at 9 a.m. on June 12 and taken down in the afternoon.
The origins of Stevens’ “Consentivus” pole date back more than a decade. And he received international media attention in 2013 for a Festivus poll he constructed with Pabst Blue Ribbon beer cans in the Florida State Capitol after a Nativity scene was displayed in the rotunda.
“I’m a constitutional stress tester. I have been doing this stuff for years,” Stevens said. “And I love Wisconsin. You gave us cheese curds. You gave us Bob Uecker.”
Spokespeople for state Republican leaders did not immediately respond to calls from a reporter about the “Consentivus pole.”
Trump has called for Americans to move on from the Epstein files, following the release earlier this year of 3 million additional documents by the Justice Department.
“I think it’s really time for the country to maybe get onto something else,” Trump told reporters in February, adding that “nothing came out” about him.
Trump’s name, his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida and other references to Trump were mentioned 38,000 times across 5,300 files in the Justice Department’s Jan. 30 release of files from the investigation into Epstein, according to a review from the New York Times. Several of the files appeared to be duplicates.
Epstein survivors criticized the Justice Department’s decision to withhold about 2.5 million documents in its possession.
In 2008, Epstein pleaded guilty in Florida to one count of procuring a child for prostitution and one count of soliciting prostitution. He was arrested in New York on federal sex trafficking charges in 2019, but died while awaiting trial.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: ‘Consentivus’ pole targeting Trump, Epstein to be erected at Capitol
Reporting by Mary Spicuzza, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
