Artist Illma Gore, whose nude portrait of Donald Trump swept the internet earlier this year, was violently attacked last week by an apparent supporter of the Republican presidential candidate.
Gore, 24, told BuzzFeed News the assault happened Friday afternoon near La Cienega Boulevard in Los Angeles. As she walked home from an art supplies store, several people in a passing black Honda Civic yelled, "Trump 2016." Gore said she tried to ignore the car, but it soon came to a stop nearby.
"As I walked past, a man got out of the passenger door and hit me and yelled, 'Trump 2016,'" Gore said. She described the man as white, thin, and wearing shorts and a red beanie.
Gore said after the assault she called police and filed a report, which she provided to BuzzFeed News. The report describes the altercation as battery.
A spokesperson for the Los Angeles Police Department could not provide BuzzFeed News with additional information about the incident.
Gore posted an Instagram picture on Friday that showed bruising around her eye. She posted a second picture of her black eye on Monday.
In February, Gore revealed her nude portrait of Donald Trump. The painting, called "Make America Great Again," depicted the candidate with a small penis, and on Facebook Gore wrote that "no matter what is in your pants, you can still be a big prick."
The painting generated intense media coverage, which Gore said resulted in numerous threats against her. She tried to ignore the vitriol on the internet, she said, and the incident on Friday was the first time anyone had physically tried to hurt her.
"I'd never seen such casual violence in an election," Gore said. "I think it's so sad on both sides that people are being hurt and how violent it is."
The assault, however, has not made her reconsider painting Trump.
"I definitely do not regret it, and I would paint it again," she said. "I believe in my painting. I think that painting should evoke an emotion. It's kind of all part of the piece, and it's indicative of where we are right now."