Two climate change activists who vandalized the National Archives Rotunda in February and sprinkled red powder on the box that protects the U.S. Constitution have learned their fate.
On February 14, 2024, Donald Zepeda, 35, of Maryland, and Jackson Greene, 27, of Utah, were each charged with assaulting the U.S. Constitution, which is housed in the National Archives in Washington. He was sentenced to 24 months in prison and 18 months in prison. direct currentU.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Acting Special Agent in Charge David Geist of the FBI’s Washington Field Criminal Cyber Division made the announcement Monday.
Zepeda pleaded guilty on Aug. 15 to a felony charge of criminal damage to property for dumping a fine red powder into a display case containing the U.S. Constitution in the archives rotunda.
Officials said the clean-up cost of the stunt, which was aimed at drawing attention to climate change, was more than $58,000.
Climate change activists evicted from National Archives Amphitheater after dumping pink powder on case holding US Constitution
Donald Zepeda, 35, of Maryland, and Jackson Greene, 27, of Utah, were charged in federal district court on February 14, 2024, for attacking the U.S. Constitution, which is housed in the National Archives. They were sentenced to 24 months in prison and 18 months in prison, respectively. Washington, DC (U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Columbia)
The vandalism also closed the Rotunda for four days, preventing students, visitors, and Washington DC residents from visiting.
Greene also pleaded guilty on Aug. 13 to a felony charge of criminal damage to property for a red powder attack on the U.S. Constitution, and on Nov. 14, 2023, for his defamation charge of causing injury to an exhibit at the National Gallery of Art. He also pleaded guilty to one charge. Memorial to Civil War Black Soldiers, Augustus St. Gaudens’ Shaw 54th Regiment Memorial (1900).
Zepeda and Green were also ordered to serve 24 months of supervised release and each pay $58,600 in restitution. They were also ordered to perform community service, including cleaning up graffiti. Both have been banned from Washington, D.C., and all museums nationwide.
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Green (left) and Zepeda (right) pose for a photo after dumping red gunpowder into a display case housing the U.S. Constitution at the National Archives on February 14, 2024. (U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia)
Greene had been charged with assaulting Shaw Memorial just 13 days before joining Zepeda in the archive tampering charge.
According to court documents, Zepeda and Green are members of the activist group Emergencies, which claims to raise awareness about climate change by engaging in various crimes, primarily in Washington, D.C.
Mr. Zepeda (left) and Mr. Greene (right) were photographed covered in red powder at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. (U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia) after their attack on the U.S. Constitution.
During the Valentine’s Day stunt, the group retweeted footage of the Rotunda and wrote, “We don’t want the end of civilization, but that’s the path we’re on right now.”
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The group previously wrote, “The nonviolent civil disobedience of the State of Emergency is love in action every day, not just on Valentine’s Day.”
The group issued a statement following the verdict, saying it expected the sentence to be “harsh”.
“Mr. Green and Mr. Zepeda were charged with felony destruction of government property, even though there was no evidence that any damage was done,” the group said in a statement on its website. “The tempera paint powder was chosen because it was harmless, but no powder actually went into the case.”
