The sentencing of climate activist Timothy Martin to 18 months in prison for a peaceful protest at the National Gallery of Art is a grossly disproportionate sentence that undermines the United States’ obligations to protect freedom of speech and the right to peaceful assembly, Climate Rights International said today.  

On April 27, 2023, Martin, along with fellow activist Joanna Smith, staged a peaceful climate protest at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., spreading water-soluble red and black paint on the protective glass covering Edgar Degas’s Little Dancer Aged Fourteen sculpture. They then sat quietly with their hands raised, waiting to be arrested. Video of the protest shows that they did not touch or damage the sculpture itself. 

Martin and Smith were swiftly arrested and later charged with two felonies: conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States and injury to a National Gallery of Art exhibit. The charges carry penalties of up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Martin was found guilty on both charges on April 7, 2025, and sentenced on October 27, 2025. He has been held in custody since his guilty verdict more than six months ago. 

“Punishing peaceful protest out of proportion has a chilling effect on free speech and basic rights,” said Trevor Stankiewicz, Researcher at Climate Rights International. “Tim Martin engaged in a classic example of civil disobedience to make a political point, but instead of receiving a typically modest fine or a few days in jail, the authorities basically threw the book at him. It’s hard to fathom how a peaceful protester can receive more prison time than many of the insurrectionists who tried to overturn an election.”  

Martin and Smith told Climate Rights International that they chose the National Gallery of Art for their protest because museums embody the values a society chooses to preserve. “It was kind of an obvious choice,” Martin said. “It’s a child [the Little Dancer] and she’s in a kind of vulnerable position.”  

They said that the action was meant to confront what they saw as the United States’ refusal to take adequate measures against the escalating climate crisis. “We don’t consent to this,” Smith told Climate Rights International. “You should be able to not consent in a peaceful way without being charged with a felony.”  

Smith pled 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. She had to pay a court fee, a $3,000 fine, and restitution totaling $4,062. Smith was barred from entering Washington, D.C., and from all museums and monuments for two years. Martin did not accept a plea deal and went to trial. While awaiting trial, he was similarly barred from Washington, D.C., and from all museums and monuments.

Martin and Smith’s protest followed a wave of art-centered demonstrations across Europe to protest government inaction, most of which had, at the time of their protest, resulted in misdemeanor charges or fines. Martin and Smith expected the same. Instead, they were charged with two federal felonies usually reserved for serious crimes against U.S. interests. 

Acts of civil disobedience have long been recognized as legitimate expressions of conscience, and are protected under international human rights law as long as they are nonviolent. From the Boston Tea Party to civil rights sit-ins, peaceful law-breaking has played a vital role in advancing justice in the United States.  

The United States is not the only country in which climate protestors have faced heavy penalties for their activism. Climate Rights International’s 2024 report On Thin Ice documented how, across democratic countries, governments have responded to climate protests with new laws, sweeping arrests, and prison sentences that are growing longer each year.  

The United States has moved backward in addressing the climate crisis.  Under President Trump’s administration, the country has once again withdrawn from the Paris Agreement, gutted environmental protections, and expanded fossil fuel production.  

“The government should engage with the concerns of protesters instead of trying to muzzle them by banning them from cities or giving them long custodial sentences,” said Stankiewicz. “You can’t imprison your way out of the climate crisis.”