One man was arrested this morning at about 11:15 after throwing a glass bottle with red paint at the B-29 Enola Gay, at the Smithsonian’s new National Air and Space Museum facility in Chantilly, Va. The plane was dented by the bottle which had been thrown from the walkway above the plane and shattered on the floor beneath the aircraft. There is no paint on the plane itself.
The unidentified man, arrested by the Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority Police, was believed to be part of an organized protest about the Enola Gay on the opening day of the Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. Museum security temporarily roped off the area closest to the plane while the paint is being removed. Visitors can still view the historic Enola Gay from several different vantage points. The museum remains open today until 5:30 p.m., and thousands of visitors are in the building.
The museum’s staff had met with the protesters in advance and had been assured that their demonstration would not be disruptive. The protesters were asked to leave the museum by security officers after the incident occurred because they were causing a disruption and the artifact had been damaged. According to museum Director Gen. J.R. “Jack” Dailey, the museum’s top priorities are the protection of its visitors and its artifacts.
