Political signs displayed in an artist’s studio window at the Torpedo Factory Art Center have drawn national attention on social media this week, sparking debate over free speech in city-owned facilities. Alexandria officials have not publicly stated whether they can take action on the controversial display.
UPDATE 2:35 p.m.: Artist M. Alexander Gray provided a statement to ALXnow defending his work and questioning the focus on his signs. Story updated below.
UPDATE 6:30 p.m.: Mayor Alyia Gaskins confirmed to ALXnow that the email responses circulating online are authentic.
The controversy began Thursday when conservative commentator Jack Posobiec, who has more than 3.2 million followers on the social media platform X, posted images of signs visible through the waterfront-facing window of Studio 17.
The signs include satirical campaign-style posters bearing the names “Gaius Cassius Longinus” and “Marcus Junius Brutus” — the Roman senators who led the assassination of Julius Caesar — alongside a sign reading “Charlie Kirk was a piece of shit.” Kirk, the CEO and co-founder of Turning Point USA, was shot and killed on Sept. 10 at Utah Valley University by a gunman who said he targeted Kirk because of his politics.
Conservative political accounts, including NOVA Campaigns, which has nearly 22,000 followers, amplified the posts and shared the facility’s address. On Friday morning, NOVA Campaigns posted what it said were email responses from Mayor Alyia Gaskins stating the city cannot remove the signs due to First Amendment protections.
ALXnow independently verified Thursday and confirmed again Friday that the signs remain on display in the studio operated by M. Alexander Gray, which also features a print with the phrase “Deny Defend Depose.”
In a text message to ALXnow on Thursday, Mayor Gaskins wrote: “We are on it with attorney office. We dealt with something like this previously and did not have a means to prohibit expression of free speech in the tenant spaces. But checking.”
The message indicates the city has faced similar situations before where First Amendment protections limited their ability to regulate tenant expression, though Gaskins did not elaborate on what action, if any, the city might take in this case.
Screenshots circulating online show more detailed email responses from the mayor to other constituents that elaborate on the First Amendment constraints. The mayor confirmed to ALXnow Friday evening that the messages are authentic.
According to those messages, Gaskins wrote: “I appreciate you contacting the city about this matter. I have consulted with the city attorney’s office and have been advised that while the city owns and operates this building, the speech in the sign is protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.”
The message noted that while certain categories of speech are not protected under the First Amendment — such as incitement of imminent lawless actions and solicitation to commit crimes — “this sign does not advocate speech that is unprotected.”
“Due to the First Amendment, we cannot take action to have this sign removed,” the message stated, adding that staff spoke with the tenant to remind them that the Torpedo Factory “is trying to promote a family friendly environment and ask for their assistance in helping to creat such an environment.”
Mayor Gaskins and Diane Ruggiero, deputy director for the Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities, both told ALXnow on Thursday that the city was aware of the situation and looking into it. In a Friday afternoon email, Ruggiero referred further questions to the mayor’s office and city communications. Gaskins confirmed Friday evening that email responses circulating online stating the city cannot remove the signs due to First Amendment protections are authentic.
The email exchange highlights the difficult position city officials face as both property managers and government entities bound by the First Amendment. While the facility’s operating rules appear to restrict such displays, enforcing those rules against constitutionally protected speech could expose the city to legal challenges. For Gray, a juried artist who has been part of the Torpedo Factory community for more than six years, the controversy marks a stark shift from the Virginia landscape prints that built his reputation.
The online discussion has been largely driven by conservative accounts critical of what they perceive as the city’s response. NOVA Campaigns characterized the mayor’s statement as “a finger wag” and wrote that “hate does have a home” at the facility. Users have called for boycotts of the Torpedo Factory and suggested the historical assassination references represent veiled threats against contemporary political figures.
Questions about political expression in government-funded art spaces have been contested nationwide, with courts generally siding with artists’ First Amendment rights even when the expression is controversial. The Supreme Court has held that government entities cannot discriminate against speech based on viewpoint, even in facilities they own and operate.
The artist and the work
The studio belongs to M. Alexander Gray, a painter and engraver who has maintained a workspace at the Torpedo Factory since 2018. Gray, who grew up in Alexandria, is known primarily for detailed woodcut and engraving prints of Virginia landscapes, aqueducts, and historical structures — work that has earned him numerous awards in national juried exhibitions.
The political signs represent a marked departure from Gray’s established body of work. On his website, Gray currently sells a $60 print titled “Deny Defend Depose” alongside a $125 print called “Luigi Mangione – Revolutionary Hero.”
Luigi Mangione is the man arrested and charged with the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York City in December 2024. The words “deny,” “defend” and “depose” were found on shell casings at the crime scene and were interpreted as a reference to insurance industry practices. The phrases have since become associated with critiques of the healthcare insurance industry.
Kirk, 31, was speaking at a Turning Point USA campus event when he was shot by Tyler Robinson, 22, who told investigators he had been planning the attack for more than a week. Robinson, who surrendered to police the following day, is charged with aggravated murder. According to prosecutors, Robinson texted that he targeted Kirk because he “had enough of his hatred.”
Gray did not respond to an email request for comment sent Friday morning but provided a statement after the story was published.
In an email Friday afternoon, Gray defended his work and questioned the focus on his signs given what he described as larger political concerns.
“The ‘Deny, Defend Depose’ woodcut was by far my most popular piece of the past year. I sold two within an hour of putting it up for the first time last December and many more over the coming weeks,” Gray wrote. “It also sparked many interesting, and often heated dialogues with visitors about the long history of political violence in art. The people who didn’t like it seemed much more offended by a simple woodblock print than a health insurance industry that exploits and victimizes millions of Americans.”
Gray also referenced broader political tensions: “We are in a political situation where the President of the United States made an unprecedented coup attempt against the government, got away with it, and went on to pardon the violent rabble that attacked the Capitol at his behest. We have masked secret police force, above accountability, terrorizing Americans. We have an opposition party that is doing nothing of consequence to oppose authoritarian fascism. With all this going on, you’re worried about a sign?”
Historical context
Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus led a conspiracy of approximately 60 Roman senators who stabbed Julius Caesar about 23 times on March 15, 44 B.C., in an attempt to prevent him from becoming a permanent dictator and preserve the Roman Republic. The assassination ultimately failed to restore republican governance and instead triggered civil war.
In Western culture, Brutus and Cassius have become enduring symbols of political betrayal — immortalized in Shakespeare’s play “Julius Caesar” and placed by Dante in the lowest circle of Hell alongside Judas Iscariot as history’s greatest traitors. The fake campaign signs appear to be satirical political commentary using these historical figures’ names.
Facility rules and free speech
The Torpedo Factory Art Center, managed by the city’s Department of Recreation, Parks, and Cultural Activities through the Office of the Arts, is home to 71 artist studios and attracts approximately 500,000 visitors annually. Artists earn studios through a competitive jury process and sign lease agreements. The facility is located along the popular waterfront plaza near Vola’s Dockside Grill and other businesses.
According to the facility’s operating rules and procedures, “Studio hall windows are not to be blocked by anything other than the studio address sign, a small notice board no more than 9 inches by 12 inches in size, and posted hours.” The rules also state that “Tenants may not use public space as an extension of their leased premises for any purpose (including signs, artwork, and storage) without the written approval of the landlord.”
The signs displayed in Gray’s window appear larger than the permitted 9-by-12-inch notice board, and there is no indication that the city approved their display. However, enforcing these rules against political speech could raise constitutional concerns for the city as a government entity.
However, as a government entity operating a public facility, the city faces constitutional limitations on regulating speech. First Amendment protections generally prevent government entities from restricting expression based on content or viewpoint, even in facilities they own and operate.
The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibits the government from abridging freedom of speech, and courts have ruled this applies even when the government acts as a property owner or landlord, not just as a regulator.
The situation comes at a sensitive time for the Torpedo Factory. The city is currently seeking information through a request for information for potential operators to lease, manage, and operate the facility, with responses due May 16, 2025. A stakeholder task force has been working on revitalization efforts focused on “vibrancy and sustainability.”
The Torpedo Factory’s stated mission is to “foster connections among artists and the public that ignite the creative spirit” and provide “thought-provoking exhibitions that push the envelope and spur conversations.” The facility’s values emphasize supporting “artistic excellence, innovation, and all forms of creative engagement.”
What happens next
As of Friday afternoon, the signs remained displayed in the studio window. It remains unclear whether city officials will take any action or what legal options, if any, may be available.
The case highlights the ongoing tension between maintaining community standards in public facilities and protecting constitutional rights to free expression — a balance that government entities must navigate carefully to avoid First Amendment violations.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
