Protester Dings Enola Gay

Protesters made a dent in security measures, not to mention the Enola Gay, in an apparently well-planned but poorly executed attempt to make their mark on the controversy that has followed the restored B-29 to its new resting place. After reportedly assuring staff at the newly opened Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center that they wouldn’t cause any trouble, one of the protesters tossed a jar of red paint at the bomber, which dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, in 1945. The aluminum yielded, however, and instead of smashing on the plane, the jar left a dent and shattered on the floor below. The protesters were kicked out of the museum immediately for causing a disturbance and two have been charged. The unidentified man who allegedly threw the paint faces charges of destruction of property and loitering. Another man was charged with loitering … an offense perhaps forgiven of less antagonistic museum loiterers. The area around the Enola Gay was roped off while the paint was cleaned up but the museum remained open.