A couple of climate activists caused<\/span>\u00a0global outrage<\/span><\/a> by throwing soup at Vincent van Gogh’s painting <\/span>Sunflowers<\/span>. <\/span>Should free-speech absolutists join in?<\/span><\/p>\n

While other forms of peaceful protest are defensible, there is a compelling reason to draw the line at vandalism.<\/span><\/p>\n

“Lots of conduct ‘sends a message’ but is nevertheless both immoral and illegal, like killing a political opponent, hijacking a plane, or torching a place of worship,” says Will Creeley, legal director at the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education<\/span>.<\/span><\/i> “Likewise, committing vandalism by soup to send a message about climate change may be ‘expressive,’ but attempting to destroy someone else’s work of art crosses moral and legal boundaries.”<\/span><\/p>\n

The soup-throwers are affiliated with<\/span>\u00a0Just Stop Oil<\/span><\/a>, a U.K.\u2013based group that has been partial to such destructive tactics in recent months, ostensibly to raise awareness of the environmental impact of oil and gas production. In July, members of the organization <\/span>glued<\/a> themselves to a 500-year-old reproduction of Leonardo da Vinci’s <\/span>The Last Supper<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Not only is such conduct unprotected in the United Kingdom, where speech laws are much<\/span> less permissive<\/span><\/a> than in the United States, but it would also leave activists open to vandalism and property destruction<\/span> charges<\/span><\/a> if they pulled the same stunt on U.S. soil.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Activists with @JustStop_Oil<\/a> have thrown tomato soup on Van Gogh’s Sunflowers at the national Gallery and glued themselves to the wall. pic.twitter.com\/M8YP1LPTOU<\/a><\/p>\n

— Damien Gayle (@damiengayle) October 14, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n