Three protestors have been charged for throwing orange paint over Stonehenge in England on June 19. The charges follow recent jail sentences for other U.K. climate activists.
The Stonehenge demonstration by the environmental activist group Just Stop Oil caused international outrage, although the powdered paint was made of cornstarch and English Heritage’s chief executive Nick Merriman was quick to confirm after the act that the demonstrators had not visibly damaged the world famous prehistoric structure.
Yesterday, Luke Watson, 35, was charged with one count of aiding, abetting, counseling and/or procuring destroying or damaging an ancient monument and another count of aiding, abetting, counseling and/or procuring causing a public nuisance. The exact nature of his involvement in the action has not been publicized.
In July, Watson was arrested for another Just Stop Oil action at Heathrow Airport and held on remand at Wormwood Scrubs prison in London.
“Revolution is not a dinner party, it’s not writing a song or waving a sign,” he commented. “We have to do everything we can to make a peaceful revolution possible.”
On Thursday, November 14, two additional Stonehenge protestors—Rajan Naidu, 73, and Niamh Lynch, 20—were charged with one count of destroying or damaging an ancient monument and one count of causing a public nuisance. All three protestors will appear at Salisbury Magistrates’ Court for a hearing on December 13.
Video footage of the demonstration shows two assailants, Naidu and Lynch, running past a rope fence towards Stonehenge and unleashing plumes of powdered orange paint from canisters. They were interrupted by Stonehenge workers with the aid of one member of the public. Police soon arrived and led the Naidu and Lynch away while a few onlookers booed. That evening’s traditional summer solstice celebrations went ahead that same evening as planned.
The protest was intended to draw attention to Just Stop Oil’s demand that the incoming government, due to be elected on July 4, sign a legally binding treaty to phase out fossil fuels by 2030. Labour, the center-left party that took power with a landslide victory, campaigned with a pledge to make the U.K. a “clean energy superpower” and an international climate leader by 2030.
However, Labour’s leader Keir Starmer was not impressed by the stunt. He took to X to condemn the act as “outrageous.” He added: “Just Stop Oil are pathetic. Those responsible must face the full force of the law.”
Phoebe Plummer and Anna Holland have been found guilty of public nuisance for throwing soup at a painting by Vincent Van Gogh. Photo courtesy of Just Stop Oil
In recent months, several climate protestors have indeed faced legal action in a slew of court cases. In September, two protests who threw soup at a Van Gogh painting at the National Gallery in 2022 were sentenced by Southwark Crown Court in London to hefty prison sentences of two years, for Phoebe Plummer, and 20 months, for Anna Holland. The court had found them guilty of criminal damage, charges that they denied.
Not all legal experts have reached the same conclusion. In October, the Manchester Magistrates’ Court spared two Just Stop Oil activists who had glued themselves to a J.M.W. Turner painting at Manchester Art Gallery in 2022. The judge decided they were not guilty because their action was proportionate in the face of the climate crisis.