Last February, two climate change activists entered the Capitol Rotunda and threw red powder at a display case containing the U.S. Constitution.
The foolish behavior caused more than $50,000 in damage and took days to clean up.
Both activists were arrested and charged with felonies. Now they have been sentenced. They are in a real prison.
Associated Press report:
Climate change activist sentenced to two years in prison for throwing red powder on constitutional display
A climate change activist who sprinkled red powder on a box containing the original copy of the U.S. Constitution was sentenced Friday to two years in prison for vandalism at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., earlier this year.
U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson told Donald Zepeda that his attacks on exhibits of valuable documents did nothing to advance his cause.
“You still think it has to do with the climate change issue, and I don’t agree with that,” she said.
Zepeda, the leader of Declare Emergency, was indicted along with other members of the climate change awareness group. Jackson on Tuesday sentenced Zepeda’s co-defendant, Jackson Green of Utah, to 18 months in prison.
Zepeda, 35, of Maryland, pleaded guilty in August to one count of destruction of federal property. The Constitution itself has not been undermined.
the hill There’s more:
The Post said Zepeda’s attorney argued that while the defendant’s actions were “viscerally outraged,” “he had no intention of undermining the Constitution or the case, nor did he anticipate the costs of cleaning it up.” His lawyers said the intention was to “get the Biden administration to declare a climate emergency,” The Post reported.
Green apologized to the Washington Post, saying, “I have come to realize that destructive protest actions such as the one I carried out, in addition to causing direct harm to individuals, can create negative reactions that can have the opposite effect than we intended.” — turns people away from the climate movement and creates more discord.”
Perhaps if these punishments became more frequent, leftists would think twice about defacing famous works of art by throwing soup at them.
(video:source)
