Art by Guantanamo detainees on display in NYC

NEW YORK (FOX5NY) - An exhibit called Ode to the Sea: Art from Guantanamo Bay features works of art created by Gitmo detainees.

The art is created under strict regulations, can't show violent images. And each one is scanned by military authorities for hidden messages. The people behind the work are eight suspected Al Qaeda terrorists. Four are still detained. The others have been released.

Erin Thompson specializes in art crime at John Jay College, where students study terrorism and how to prevent it. She understands the emotion this display is evoking. She said some 9/11 widows reached out to her to thank her for the exhibit because they want justice and want the detainees to stand trial.

The exhibit went up early October and is open to the public. One image that really struck a nerve is one of the Statue of Liberty.

Javier Velasco, a veteran, said that painting boiled his blood a little. He said enlisted the day before the 9/11 terrorist attacks and was deployed from 2003 to 2004.

The Pentagon is reportedly against the exhibit. Fox 5 News reached out the Department of Defense for comment, but haven't heard back.

The exhibit is located at the President's Gallery at John Jay College. It run through January 26, 2018.