Climate activists who poured red powder on the US Constitution at the National Archives were sentenced to prison

Two climate activists who poured red powder on the display case of the US Constitution at the museum on February 14 were sentenced to more than a year in prison. Donald Zepeda of Maryland was sentenced to two years in prison; The other defendant, Jackson Green from Utah, was sentenced to 18 months in prison. Each will also receive two years of probation.

Zepeda and Green are involved in the climate activism group Declare Emergency, and both have previously participated in similar actions at museums. The difference in their sentences likely stems from Zepeda’s longer history of action on behalf of climate activism, including filming paint stains at the trial of Edgar Degas’ famous body. Little Dancer In April 2023.

Green was the one who painted “Honour Them” in red paint on the wall next to the African-American Civil War monument at the National Gallery of Art (NGA) in Washington, D.C., last year. Zepeda also filmed this protest; but although Green was the only person arrested, charged, and ultimately sentenced to 90 days in prison, he will serve that sentence concurrently with his new 18-month sentence. Green was also ordered to pay $706 in damages to the NGA.

In a statement, U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson, who is presiding over the constitutional case, called Zepeda and Green’s actions at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., “unserious, ineffective, and completely unrelated to the climate emergency.” He added that penalties were necessary to deter similar actions in the future, which he called a “misguided” act of protest. “The message should be clear: eco-vandalism is not a good idea,” he said. “It’s not ecological. “This is just vandalism.”

Coincidentally, Jackson was also assigned to the Degas case, which involved two other Emergency Proclamation activists (with Zepeda’s help). One of them, Joanna Smith, pleaded guilty and was sentenced in April of this year to 60 days in jail, along with two years of probation and 150 hours of community service. The other, Timothy Martin, is scheduled to begin his jury trial on January 6, 2025, also with Jackson presiding.

Zepeda and Green pleaded guilty to charges of destruction of government property, which carries a maximum sentence of ten years in prison. As part of their sentence, they are expected to pay $58,607.59 to the National Archives for damage to the display case. The constitution itself was not damaged, but the incident led to the archives being closed to the public for four days and increased security.

In his statement read in court, Green wrote: “I genuinely thought we carried out the actions in a way that did not cause serious harm to others, but I now realize the ignorance and lack of thought that belief represented. I also acknowledge that, regardless of my intentions, the harm I cause is real and is my responsibility.” He added: “In addition to causing direct harm to individuals, destructive protest actions such as the one I engage in can create a negative backlash, alienating people from climate activism and causing climate change.” I realized that our intentions by creating can lead to the exact opposite. more disagreements.

Zepeda’s court statement was less apologetic; He was defending his actions and blaming the government for its friendship with the fossil fuel industry and its lack of response to the climate crisis. He made a quote 2023 Senate reportIt is estimated that “taxpayers pay approximately $20 billion in federal subsidies to the fossil fuel industry each year.” Zepeda added that the emotions his actions evoke are very much part of the issue: “We need to feel the real sense of fear and emotion so that we don’t pass this problem off to future generations who are less able to solve it.”

Zepeda is often cited as the co-founder and leader of Declare Emergency. It has participated in a number of climate actions over the past few years and is said to a new profile with New York MagazineElizabeth Weil was arrested more than 20 times for civil disobedience. Perhaps most importantly, in 2017, years before the start of the Emergency Declaration, Zepeda broke into an oil pipeline facility in Washington State in an attempt to shut down a pipeline carrying tar sands oil from Canada. Zepeda was unable to reach the safety valve but was convicted of second-degree burglary, sabotage and malicious mischief and served 60 days in jail. He was later happy to learn that, as a result of his own actions, the plant had voluntarily shut down the pipeline for several hours.