Climate Activists Who Glued Themselves to Painting Get Prison Sentence

Two Belgian climate activists who glued themselves to a famous painting received a prison sentence this week.

QUICK FACTS:

• The Belgian climate protestors who glued themselves to a famous painting were given a prison sentence by a Dutch court Wednesday.
• The men targeted the Johannes Vermeer painting “Girl with a Pearl Earring” as one glued his head to the painting and the other poured a can of soup over his head.
• “How do you feel when you see something beautiful and priceless being apparently destroyed before your eyes?” one of the activists asked onlookers. “Do you feel outraged? Good. Where is that feeling when you see the planet being destroyed before our very eyes?”
• Both vandals received two-month prison sentences, and after one was suspended the pair will only serve one month.

These stunts may be pre-arranged, but the judge knows:

What happens when copycats come, and the painting isn't rigged with a sheet of glass?https://t.co/vSnLtN8zOp

— Neil Stevens (@presjpolk) November 3, 2022

DUTCH PROSECUTOR ON THE CLIMATE ACTIVISTS VANDALIZING A FAMOUS PAINTING:

“An artwork hanging there for all, for all of us, to enjoy, has been smeared by defendants who felt their message took precedence over everything else,” the prosecutor said.

BACKGROUND:

• The stunt comes amid a series of activists defiling public property and disrupting sporting events.
• Last month, American Faith reported how Rams’ linebacker Bobby Wagner wiped out an animal-rights activist who ran on the field and disrupted a Monday night primetime game.
• In June 2022, an environmental activist tied herself to a tennis net with metal wires and glue during the French Open in Paris, France.