The Rotunda and galleries at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., closed early Wednesday afternoon after two activists poured powder on the case holding the U.S. Constitution, according to the Archives.
Two people were “immediately detained” by security, and officials are investigating the incident, the Archives said in a press release.
Colleen Shogan, the United States’ archivist, said in the release the National Archives and Records Administration takes vandalism “very seriously” and will “insist that the perpetrators be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
When the museum reopens. It’s expected the museum will be able to open as scheduled tomorrow, the Archives said.
There have been a number of vandalism incidents in recent years by climate change activists. Just two weeks ago, climate activists threw soup at the Mona Lisa painting in the Louvre, though the image was protected by its glass casing. In posts about it, the group behind the soup throwing—Riposte Alimentaire—said the goal of it was to draw “attention to unsustainable food production and hunger in France,” CNN reported. In 2022, there were at least 10 attacks around the world in which activists sought to raise awareness about climate change or other sustainability issues facing their countries. In November 2022, the International Council of Museums released a statement reminding protestors that art is “irreplaceable” and saying they “severely underestimate the fragility” of the art they’re vandalizing.