2 Charged after pouring red powder on the suitcase containing the US Constitution
Two climate activists who threw red powder over the display case of the U.S. Constitution at the National Archives Museum last month were charged Thursday with destruction of government property, prosecutors said.
The activists, Donald Zepeda, 35, of Maryland, and Jackson Green, 27, of Utah, poured the powder over the display case in the building’s rotunda on Feb. 14 as part of a “stunt designed to draw attention . climate change,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia said in a statement rack on Friday.
During the episode, which officials say was captured on video by supporters of Mr. Green, the two men also poured red powder on themselves and then stood in front of the Constitution while calling for solutions to climate change.
According to the Constitution, the Constitution has not been damaged National Archives Museumstating that the powder appeared to be a combination of pigment and corn starch.
“Fortunately, the four pages of the Constitution on display were not at risk of damage from this incident,” said Stephanie Hornbeck, a National Conservation Program officer.
The roundabout was closed after the episode, which cost more than $50,000 to clean up, prosecutors said.
According to the museumAbout thirty people were involved in the cleaning work, which prevented the powder from getting wet and being turned into paint.
“The cabinets in the Rotunda were cleaned using a variety of tested tools compatible with the different surfaces (e.g., metal, stone, caulk),” the museum said. “The dry method cleaning protocol used was designed to effectively remove the pigment powder and stains so that they would not be visible, to use methods that are safe for people and the marble, and to tackle the large affected areas in the most time-efficient manner possible to take.”
According to court documents, Mr. Zepeda was arrested on Wednesday and released on bail the next day. Prosecutors said that when Mr. Zepeda was arrested, he was on his way to Raleigh, N.C., to meet another environmental protester.
Mr. Green, who court records show is associated with a group called Declare Emergency, was previously charged in a separate case of vandalism at the National Gallery of Art in November 2023.
In that case, he wrote “HONOR THEM” in red paint on a mural of the 54th Massachusetts Regiment, court documents show.
After that episode, he was ordered by a judge to stay away from Washington and its museums and public monuments, prosecutors said.
Because Mr. Green violated the conditions of his release last month by entering the National Archives Museum, a judge on February 22 ordered him held in jail.
If convicted, the men could face a fine of up to $250,000, 10 years in prison, or both.
Lawyers for Mr. Zepeda and Mr. Green did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday afternoon.
The museum declined to comment on the allegations on Friday. In a rack on February 15, it said: “the incident is regrettable.”
“The Archivist of the United States has established a task force to conduct an investigation into the incident and our security protocols, systems and personnel to identify lessons learned and implement changes quickly,” the museum said in the statement.
The event at the National Archives Museum was one of many provocative actions that activists have used as a form of protest to draw attention to the effects of climate change.
In January, two environmental protesters threw soup on the Mona Lisa in the Louvre in Paris. At the US Open in September, a women’s semi-final was postponed by environmental protesters, one of whom glued his bare feet to the ground at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens.