Controversial Milwaukee mural vandalized; rabbi, son sentenced

Rabbi, son sentenced for vandalizing mural

A rabbi and his son, who together vandalized a controversial mural depicting a Star of David and swastika in Milwaukee, were sentenced on Wednesday.

MILWAUKEE - A rabbi and his son, who together vandalized a controversial mural depicting a Star of David and a swastika in Milwaukee, were sentenced on Wednesday.

In court:

Court records show 74-year-old Peter Mehler pleaded no contest on Wednesday to misdemeanor criminal damage to property. He was fined $50.

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Zechariah Mehler, 43, pleaded guilty to the same misdemeanor count in December. He was given a withheld sentence on Wednesday and ordered to serve 25 hours of community service.

Judge Jack Davila also ordered the father and son to pay $1,000 total in restitution to the property owner, Ihsan Atta.

Mural before and after the black paint was removed.

The backstory:

The mural near Holton and Locust showed a Star of David combined with a swastika. Atta said it was meant to bring attention to the war in Gaza. Atta said it cost him more than $12,000.

In September 2024, police said surveillance video showed the Mehlers taking an axe and a sledgehammer to the mural while Zechariah gave the camera "double middle fingers." Police said Zechariah came back to finish the job with a pry bar the next day.

The Mehlers called the mural a hate crime.

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What they're saying:

Before sentencing the Mehlers, Davila said he understood the bigger context behind what happened: the Mehlers are Jewish, and Atta is a Palestinian American. 

The judge warned that comments not related to the crime would not be tolerated in court Wednesday. Davila interrupted Atta, who acknowledged his support for Hamas and later walked out of court after being warned a second time, only to be brought back by deputies.

"I apologize, your honor, for my behavior. However, please understand that I didn't feel, and I still don't feel I said anything wrong, and I was just asking for an explanation," said Atta.

"I know you don't, sir, and that's part of the disconnect here of the wider issue that's going on," Davila said. "We're not going to solve the world's problems with this hearing."

The Mehlers' attorney said it was shameful they were even in court – calling the mural's purpose to incite violence against Jewish people. He also said the Mehlers knew what they did was wrong in the eyes of the law, but they felt they had a moral obligation.

"I was convinced it would eventually escalate into violence against my community, here, throughout the United States, throughout the world. I don’t believe, sitting here almost two years later, that I've been proven wrong," Zechariah said. "The rule of law is the firmament that we stand on that keeps our society together and safe, and to that rule of law I submit myself even as I raise these concerns."

Editor's note: This story was updated to add video and new information.