--- description: The man behind the tombstone bearing Donald Trump’s name that appeared in a New York City park insists the headstone was not a death threat. title: Man Behind Donald Trump Tombstone Says It Was 'Not a Death Threat' image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt28d3ae8d975d63fc/698892a95f570f5f19b20df9/trump-tombstone-3.jpg?branch=production ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Man Behind Donald Trump Tombstone Says It Was 'Not a Death Threat'  by [Melissa Chan](/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 10, 2016 11:13 PM CUT  Brian Whiteley on Inside Edition. Brian Whiteley on Inside Edition.Inside Edition  by [Melissa Chan](/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 10, 2016 11:13 PM CUT The man behind the [tombstone bearing Donald Trump’s name](http://time.com/4273405/donald-trump-tombstone-central-park/ "undefined") that mysteriously appeared in a New York City park earlier this year insists the headstone was a piece of artwork and not a death threat. [Brian Whiteley](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/10/nyregion/trump-headstone-in-central-park-mystery-solved.html "undefined"), a 33-year-old performance artist, told [_Inside Edition_](http://www.insideedition.com/headlines/16318-mystery-solved-police-name-artist-behind-trump-tombstone-in-central-park "undefined") on Tuesday that he doesn’t regret paying $2,000 for the tombstone that memorialized the mogul and presidential candidate with an epitaph, “Made America Hate Again.” “I feel good about the piece,” Whiteley said, adding that he has not been charged with any crime. “I didn’t want to be revealed. It was not a death threat. I knew it would be perceived many different ways and I hope that they see it more as an art project.” The headstone also had the real estate mogul’s year of birth, 1946, but no year of death. It was quickly removed from Central Park after photos of it surfaced on social media. \[[_Inside Edition_](http://www.insideedition.com/headlines/16318-mystery-solved-police-name-artist-behind-trump-tombstone-in-central-park "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4325585/donald-trump-tombstone-new-york/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4325585/donald-trump-tombstone-new-york/"},"headline":"Man Behind Donald Trump Tombstone Says It Was 'Not a Death Threat'","datePublished":"2016-05-10T23:13:41.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T09:36:29.811Z","description":"\"I hope that they see it more as an art project\"","url":"https://time.com/4325585/donald-trump-tombstone-new-york/","keywords":["New York"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt28d3ae8d975d63fc/698892a95f570f5f19b20df9/trump-tombstone-3.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Chan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt28d3ae8d975d63fc/698892a95f570f5f19b20df9/trump-tombstone-3.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"trump-tombstone-3","caption":"","creditText":"Inside Edition","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4325585/donald-trump-tombstone-new-york/","name":"Man Behind Donald Trump Tombstone Says It Was 'Not a Death Threat'"}}]}] ```