Climate protesters arrested, indicted after smearing red paint on a National Gallery of Art exhibit

A pair of climate protesters were arrested Friday and indicted for conspiracy against the U.S. and a National Gallery of Art exhibit. The duo had smeared red and black paint on the case and base of an Edgar Degas statue.

Protesters Timothy Martin, a 53-year-old North Carolinian, and Joanne Smith, a 53-year-old New Yorker, are associated with the environmentalist protest group Declare Emergency, which calls for an end to oil projects on federal and native land and for the government to declare a state of climate emergency.

At around 11 a.m. on April 27, the duo approached the case containing “Little Dancer, Age Fourteen,” specifically the wax original sculpted by French artist Edgar Degas, depicting the Belgian dancer Marie van Goethem. The statue would later be cast in multiple bronzes.

Federal law enforcement alleges that Mr. Martin and Ms. Smith had prepared water bottles full of red and black paint, and that the two waited until the area was clear in front of the statue before acting.

A video posted by Declare Emergency on Instagram depicts the stunt. On Twitter, the group identified both Mr. Martin and Ms. Smith as concerned parents terrified about what climate change means for their kids...more/