Two people vandalized the display cases for the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence in the National Archives building in Washington, D.C., in February, supposedly to protest climate change. They caused $50,000 in damage by pouring paint on them, which required the building’s rotunda to be closed for four days and the addition of greater security measures to protect the documents.
The two men, Jackson Green and Donald Zepeda, were initially charged with misdemeanors, but the charges were upgraded to felonies, at the urging of Colleen Shogan, the archivist of the United States.
Then, at Green’s sentencing on Tuesday, Shogan read a statement in defense of the country’s founding documents and urged a severe punishment for their crimes. You can — and should — read her statement in full here. Green was sentenced to 18 months in prison, followed by 24 months of supervised release, and was ordered to pay the full cost of the damage he caused.
On Friday, Zepeda was sentenced to 24 months in prison. He was also given 24 months of supervised released and ordered to pay for the full cost of cleanup.
Prosecutors had wanted two years for Green and four years for Zepeda. The latter has a longer record of prior offenses, including burglary, trespassing, and property damage. The maximum sentence under the law was ten years.
“I did genuinely think we were going about the actions in such a way that they wouldn’t cause significant harm to others, but I realize now the ignorance and lack of consideration that belief represented,” Green told the court. “I also recognize that regardless of my intentions, the harm I caused is real and is my responsibility.”
“While I would have liked to see a longer sentence handed down, I am glad that the judge agreed that a strong message was needed to reflect the significance of these crimes and hopefully deter future attacks for the National Archives, and all cultural institutions across the country,” Shogan wrote in a blog post. Her statement to the court had urged the maximum sentence.
Even though it’s not the maximum, if more of these climate activists knew that their crimes would earn them two years’ imprisonment plus financial restitution, they’d be less likely to do them. And if more of our public servants demonstrated the commitment to duty evident in Shogan’s behavior, that would help, too.