Timothy Martin and Joanna Smith, 53, are accused of smearing with paint on April 27 the plinth and plexiglass cage that protects "The Little Dancer of Fourteen", exhibited at the National Gallery of Art.
They turned themselves in to police on Friday morning and were placed under arrest. They will face charges of "insulting the United States" and "damage" to the museum, charges punishable by five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
According to the statement, they caused $ 2,400 in costs to the museum, which had to remove the work of the French sculptor from its exhibition for ten days.
The two activists had carried out their action -- one of the first of its kind in North America -- under the eye of the cameras of the Washington Post newspaper.
"Our leaders need to take serious action to tell the truth about what's happening to the climate," Smith said in the video, sitting at the foot of the small statue, her hands covered in red paint.
This "non-violent rebellion" was claimed by the small group Declare Emergency, which asked US President Joe Biden to declare a state of emergency on climate.
In autumn 2022 mainly in Europe, environmental activists have multiplied actions targeting works of art to alert public opinion to climate change.
For example, they stuck their hands on a painting by Goya in Madrid, projected tomato soup on Van Gogh's "Sunflowers" in London and spread mashed potatoes on a masterpiece by Claude Monet in Potsdam, near Berlin.
© 2023 AFP