Climate change activists are charged after smearing paint on priceless statue in Washington DC 

Two climate protesters have been charged after smearing paint on a display case displaying a Degas masterpiece in Washington DC.

Tim Martin and Joanna Smith, both 53, were taken into custody Friday after being charged with conspiracy to commit a felony and causing damage to an art exhibit.

According to a lawsuit, both Martin and Smith smeared paint on the case and base of Degas’ Little Dancer, Age Fourteen, at the National Gallery of Art last month.

The Justice Department said the two caused about $2,400 in damage and the exhibit had to be removed from the public for ten days while it was repaired.

Each charge carries a maximum prison term of five years and a fine of up to $250,000.

The Justice Department said the two caused about $2,400 in damage and the exhibit had to be removed from the public for ten days while it was repaired

The indictment further alleges that the two agreed, along with other uncharged co-conspirators, to enter the gallery and injure the exhibit.

Martin and Smith are accused of throwing paint from water bottles at the exhibit and then smearing it on the body and base of the artwork.

Video of the incident was captured and widely shared on social media and news organizations.

In it, Martin can be heard saying to an onlooker “I’m sorry” as he throws black paint into the display case surrounding the statue.

The two throw black and red paint around the base and glass and proceed to destroy the artwork as a group of onlookers watches.

They then sit in front of the artwork with their hands outstretched before being pulled away by police officers.

Earlier this week, Martin released a video of himself defending his actions through the campaign group Declare Emergency.

In a video, he said, “The idea is we wake people up with a shock, and we do it in a way that engages and invites their emotional centers.

Tim Martin, pictured, said in a video that he wanted to shake people up with a shock to the climate crisis

His co-conspirator, Joanna Smith, pictured here, traveled from her New York home to D.C. to join the protest

Martin said he smeared paint on the statue’s body, damaging the artwork, to send a message about planet-warming gases

“We want to activate people’s emotions so they can stop ignoring and turning and looking the other way, because we can’t afford to look the other way anymore.”

The campaign group Declare Emergency recruits volunteers who say they are willing to surrender and regularly stage protests to pressure the Biden administration to radically cut fossil fuel use.

A spokeswoman told DailyMail.com about the damage to an “inherently fragile figure” made of wood, clay, string, brushes, stuffing, lead and wire, which is covered in a thin skin of beeswax.

“Damage is compounded by any movement, whether it be vibrations created when the Plexiglas cover is struck or when the statue is physically moved to another location,” the spokeswoman said.

“The attack on April 27 triggered both conditions.”

The climate protesters were arrested after smearing paint on the briefcase containing Edgar Degas’ Little Dancer Aged Fourteen at the National Gallery of Art in Washington

Gallery 3 at the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. was closed after the protest and Little Dancer was not on display again until May 8

Dozens of staff, including carpenters, archivists, art handlers, conservators, scientists and imaging specialists, were involved in repairs and cleanups – at a significant cost to the taxpayer-funded gallery.

Gallery 3 was closed for the rest of the day as police assessed the scene, and the statue was not on public display again until May 8. The air-conditioned protective cover needed extensive repairs.

“Even if cracks appear unaltered to the naked eye, microscopic and cumulative damage is always a concern,” the spokeswoman said.

In the future, Little Dancer Aged Fourteen will need to be checked regularly and extensively to detect any changes in the cracks or other elements of her composition.’

Declare Emergency released video of the two protesters smearing the paint, named them and said in a statement that they had been arrested.

Climate activists are increasingly turning to vandalizing works of art to draw attention to the emissions of gases that warm the planet, but most of these antics have been aimed at European galleries.

Last year, activists splashed soup on a painting by Vincent van Gogh in Rome and another painting in the National Gallery in London.

In Australia, activists have graffitied and glued themselves to art by Andy Warhol, while in The Hague others have clung to Johannes Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring.