Climate activists condemn 18-month jail sentence of non-violent protester who destroyed display case at National Gallery Art as “grossly disproportionate” and a violation of constitutional rights to free speech and peaceful protest.
Timothy Martin and fellow activist Joanna Smith organized the protest climate protest at the Washington, D.C. gallery in April 2023, smearing washable red and black paint onto the protective glass covering Edgar Degas's sculpture “The Little Dancer at the Age of Fourteen.”
The video of the protest shows that they sat silently with their hands raised and did not touch or damage the sculpture itself.
Martin, 55, and Smith, 54, were arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit a crime against the United States and damage an exhibit at the National Gallery of Art. Each felony carries a penalty of up to five years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
Martin has been held without bail since he was found guilty in April and was sentenced earlier this week by a federal judge in Washington to 18 months in prison.
“Tim Martin used a classic example of civil disobedience to make a political point… the authorities basically threw the book at him. It's hard to imagine how a peaceful protester could get more jail time than many of the rebels who tried to overturn the election,” said Trevor Stankiewicz, a researcher at Climate Rights International.
“Disproportionate punishment of peaceful protests has a chilling effect on free speech and fundamental rights… You cannot jail your way out of the climate crisis,” Stankiewicz.
Smith pleaded guilty to a lesser charge and served a 60-day sentence.
She was also sentenced to 24 months of supervised release, as well as 150 hours of community service and a fine totaling $4,062. Smith was banned from entering Washington and from all museums and monuments for two years.
Martin did not accept the plea deal and was found guilty on both counts after a four-day trial.
Climate activists see the jail sentence as part of a broader prosecution of climate and environmental activists in the US. and all over the world, as governments accused of failing to take action to prevent climate disaster increasingly target protesters.
Guardian investigation last year found that fossil fuel lobbyists were involved in crafting US state laws that would impose harsher penalties on nonviolent activists protesting the expansion of fossil fuel extraction.
Martin and Smith said the action was not intended to harm works of art, but rather to counter what they see as a US failure to address the escalating climate crisis.
“When I was asked to do this act, it was a no-brainer. I have an artistic background, and the little dancer is so beautiful, and she represents the children of the world who are under grave threat from the climate emergency. So I couldn't resist the opportunity to turn her beautiful, vulnerable, symbolic self into a message [against] fossil fuels,” Martin said earlier this year.
“This verdict sends a powerful message to the thousands of people who come to the District of Columbia each year to demonstrate and make their voices heard,” Edward R. Martin, the U.S. attorney in Washington, said in April. “Freedom of speech is a constitutional right. But when you take illegal action, such as damaging an art exhibition at the National Gallery, you cross the line… we will not tolerate anyone vandalizing our city to draw attention to their cause.”
Prosecutors had sought a five-year sentence for Timothy Martin.
At sentencing, Judge Amy Berman Jackson gave Martin credit for time served and said he should be released in 12 months. He must also pay $4,250 in restitution, serve two years of supervised probation and perform 150 hours of community service, 20 of which must include cleaning up graffiti.
