{"id":2232856,"date":"2024-04-29T16:04:10","date_gmt":"2024-04-29T20:04:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/climate-activist-who-defaced-famous-work-of-art-sentenced-to-prison\/"},"modified":"2024-04-29T16:07:30","modified_gmt":"2024-04-29T20:07:30","slug":"climate-activist-who-defaced-famous-work-of-art-sentenced-to-prison","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/climate-activist-who-defaced-famous-work-of-art-sentenced-to-prison\/","title":{"rendered":"Climate advocate sentenced to jail for defacing renowned artwork"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fclimate-activist-who-defaced-famous-work-of-art-sentenced-to-prison%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2232856&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Joanna Smith, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/minnesota-republicans-call-for-environmental-activists-resignation\/\" title=\"Minnesota Republicans Call For Environmental Activist\u2019s Resignation\">climate activist<\/a> from Brooklyn, NY, was sentenced to\u200b 60 days in prison for\u2063 defacing a National Gallery of \u200dArt exhibit. She must also serve community service, repay cleaning costs, and is banned \u2063from the District of Columbia&#8217;s museums. Another\u200b defendant faces trial. Vandalism jeopardized a fragile sculpture, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/muslim-majority-countries-pull-new-spider-man-movie-over-trans-flag-report\/\" title=\"Muslim countries boycott new Spider-Man movie due to trans flag, says report.\">sparking discussions<\/a> on the consequences of art vandalism in the name of activism.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<header> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/news\/\">  News <\/a>   <span> <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/author\/russdavis\/\">  <\/a> <\/p>\n<p> <span>   By <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/author\/russdavis\/%20\"><span>Jack Davis<\/span><\/a> <\/span> <span>   April 29, 2024 at 12:24pm <\/span> <\/span>  <\/header>\n<section>\n<p>A climate activist who defaced an exhibit last year at the National Gallery of Art in Washington will spend 60 days in prison.<\/p>\n<p>Joanna Smith, 54, of Brooklyn, New York, was sentenced on Friday, according to a Justice Department <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/usao-dc\/pr\/new-york-woman-sentenced-defacing-degas-sculpture-exhibit-national-gallery-art\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news release<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>On April 27, Smith and a fellow protester smeared red and black paint on the case of a 142-year-old wax sculpture by Edgar Degas titled \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nga.gov\/collection\/art-object-page.110292.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Little Dancer Aged Fourteen<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Timothy Martin of North Carolina, who was arrested along with Smith, is scheduled to go to trial on Aug. 26, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2024\/04\/26\/1247317476\/climate-activist-degas-dancer-national-gallery-sentenced\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NPR<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Smith pleaded guilty in December to one count of causing injury to a National Gallery of Art exhibit.<\/p>\n<p>U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson put Smith on 24 months of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/breaking-president-trump-gives-pardons-to-73-individuals-and-commutes-another-70-sentences-steve-bannon-is-included\/\" title=\"BREAKING: President Trump Gives Pardons to 73 Individuals and Commutes Another 70 Sentences \u2013 Steve Bannon Is Included\">supervised release<\/a> and required that she serve 150 hours of community service, 10 hours of which must be spent cleaning graffiti.<\/p>\n<p>Smith also has to repay the cost of cleaning the exhibit, which was estimated at $4,000, and is barred from entering the District of Columbia and all of its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/just-stop-oil-activists-protest-glue-van-gogh-painting-ted-cruz-exposes-baffling-detail\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">museums and monuments<\/a> for two years.<\/p>\n<p>The DOJ news release said the paint used in the vandalism was concealed in water bottles. Prosecutors said Smith and her ally \u201chad conducted research on the piece and specifically targeted it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As the vandalism took place, Smith gave a speech about climate change.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">BREAKING VIDEO: Today climate activists at the National Gallery of Art in DC smeared paint onto the stand and glass case of famous sculpture \u201cLittle Dancer of Fourteen Years\u201d by Edgar Degas.<\/p>\n<p>They say that human expression is being destroyed by climate change. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/H1zkXW1mCQ\">pic.twitter.com\/H1zkXW1mCQ<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Ford Fischer (@FordFischer) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/FordFischer\/status\/1651683564012855296?\">April 27, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>When the vandalism was done, she and her accomplice posed for photos with the paint still on their hands, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/US\/feds-charge-climate-protesters-allegedly-defacing-edgar-degas\/story?id=99636926\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ABC News<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Kaywin Feldman, director of the National Gallery of Art, called the sculpture \u201cone of the most vulnerable and fragile works in our entire collection,\u201d according to NPR.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI cannot overemphasize how the violent treatment of her protection barrier, repeated slamming, and vibrations, have forever jeopardized her stability,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith increased frequency, institutions \u2014 overwhelmingly non-profit museums for the public benefit \u2014 have suffered collateral damage at the hands of agendas that have nothing to do with museums or the art attacked,\u201d Feldman said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/graham-says-biden-is-holding-bipartisan-bill-hostage-argues-its-become-a-suicide-mission-for-gop\/\" title=\"Graham Says Biden Is Holding Bipartisan Bill \u2018Hostage,\u2019 Argues It\u2019s Become A \u2018Suicide Mission\u2019 For GOP\">real damage<\/a> that these acts of vandalism pose must be taken seriously to deter future incidents that continue to threaten our cultural heritage and historic memory,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>As more and more <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/climate-activists-smash-protective-glass-panel-historic-painting-london-national-gallery\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">museums<\/a> face vandalism in the name of climate activism, something needs to be done, Michael Taube wrote in a February column for the <a href=\"https:\/\/nationalpost.com\/opinion\/environmentalist-art-vandalism-must-be-stopped\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">National Post<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese activists demonstrate a complete lack of respect for authority, tradition and public institutions,\u201d Taube said. \u201cThis type of behavior shouldn\u2019t be tolerated in decent, law-abiding societies. Hence, there have to be more significant fines and longer jail sentences to discourage others from engaging in further copycat attacks on works of art.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"firefly-poll-container\">\n<p>Should Smith have received a longer prison sentence?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>He wrote that \u201cWestern democracies have tolerated the selfish actions and abhorrent behavior of far-left environmentalists for long enough. Let\u2019s bring an end to art vandalism, in order to protect great works of art for future generations.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Taube said acts of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/sculpture-escaping-slave-vandalized-blm-graffiti\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">vandalism<\/a> have proved the need to get tough with vandals.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGovernments also have to establish stronger penalties for these criminal acts. Make no mistake about it: this is more than mere public mischief. These are attempts to desecrate great works of art, even if they\u2019re safely behind protective glass,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<div>\n<p><b><i>A Note from Our Deputy Managing Editor:<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<p><i><span>I heard a chilling comment the other day: \u201cWe don\u2019t even know if an election will be held in 2024.\u201d <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>That wasn\u2019t said by a conspiracy theorist or a doomsday prophet. No, former U.S. national security advisor Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn said that to the founder of The Western Journal, Floyd Brown.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>Gen. Flynn\u2019s warning means that the 2024 election is the most important election for every single living American. If we lose this one to the wealthy elites who hate us, hate God, and hate what America stands for, we can only assume that 248 years of American history and the values we hold dear to our hearts may soon vanish.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>The end game is here, and as Benjamin Franklin said, \u201cWe must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>All of this means that <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/subscribe\/?utm_source=site&#038;utm_medium=westernjournalism&#038;utm_campaign=authorpitch\"><i><span>without you<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span>, it\u2019s over. We have the platform, the journalists, and the experience to fight back hard, but Big Tech is strangling us through advertising blacklists, shadow bans, and algorithms. Did you know that we\u2019ve been blacklisted by 90% of advertisers? Without direct support from you, our readers, we can\u2019t continue the fight.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>Can we count on <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/subscribe\/?utm_source=site&#038;utm_medium=westernjournalism&#038;utm_campaign=authorpitch\"><i><span>your support<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span>? It may not seem like much, but a <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/subscribe\/?utm_source=site&#038;utm_medium=westernjournalism&#038;utm_campaign=authorpitch\"><i><span>Western Journal Membership<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span>  can make all the difference in the world because when you support us directly, you cut Big Tech out of the picture. They lose control. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>A monthly Western Journal Membership costs less than one coffee and breakfast sandwich each month, and it gets you access to ALL of our content \u2014 news, commentary, and premium articles. You\u2019ll experience a radically reduced number of ads, and most importantly you will be vitally supporting the fight for America\u2019s soul in 2024.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>We are literally counting on you because without our members, The Western Journal would cease to exist. Will you <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/subscribe\/?utm_source=site&#038;utm_medium=westernjournalism&#038;utm_campaign=authorpitch\"><i><span>join us<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span>  in the fight? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>Sincerely,<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>Josh Manning<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>Deputy Managing Editor<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>The Western Journal<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"author-info-44685\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/author\/russdavis\/\">  <\/a> <\/p>\n<div>\n<p><label for=\"summary-tab-radio-44685\">Summary<\/label><label for=\"more-info-tab-radio-44685\">More<span> Biographical Information<\/span><\/label><label for=\"posts-tab-radio-44685\">Recent<span> Posts<\/span><\/label><label for=\"contact-tab-radio-44685\" onclick=\"if( typeof grecaptcha=='undefined' ) { let cap_s=document.createElement( 'script' ); cap_s.src='https:\/\/www.google.com\/recaptcha\/api.js?render=6LeJFcsUAAAAAPsIEqvB1EebWbZfqRUe6ebMpGy7'; document.body.appendChild( cap_s ); }\">Contact<\/label><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Jack Davis is a freelance writer who joined The Western Journal in July 2015 and chronicled the campaign that saw President Donald Trump elected. Since then, he has written extensively for The Western Journal on the Trump administration as well as foreign policy and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/u-s-military-issues-dire-warning-about-chinas-rapid-military-nuclear-weapons-buildup\/\" title=\"U.S. Military Issues Dire Warning About China\u2019s Rapid Military, Nuclear Weapons Buildup\">military issues<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>  Jack Davis is a freelance writer who joined The Western Journal in July 2015 and chronicled the campaign that saw President Donald Trump elected. Since then, he has written extensively for The Western Journal on the Trump administration as well as foreign policy and military issues. <br \/> Jack can be reached at jackwritings1@gmail.com. <\/p>\n<p>  Location <\/p>\n<p>  New York City <\/p>\n<p>  Languages Spoken <\/p>\n<p>  English <\/p>\n<p>  Topics of Expertise <\/p>\n<p>  Politics, Foreign Policy, Military &#038; Defense Issues <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Climate activist Joanna Smith, 54, from Brooklyn, NY, sentenced to 60 days in prison for defacing a National Gallery of Art exhibit. The sentence was handed down by the Justice Department on April 27<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":661,"featured_media":2232857,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/climate-activist.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[548],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2232856","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-conservative-news-daily"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/climate-activist.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2232856","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/661"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2232856"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2232856\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2232857"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2232856"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2232856"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2232856"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}