Environmental extremists threw orange paint over Stonehenge, a 5,000-year-old British Neolithic monument, on the eve of the summer solstice, a significant day named after Stonehenge in the astronomical calendar.
Stonehenge was painted bright orange on Wednesday as radical environmentalists used a now-familiar tactic to attack buildings and sites: refilling fire extinguishers with paint. Footage provided by the extremist group Just Stop Oil shows two people running towards the ancient stones with the fire extinguisher and marking the monument.
Amazingly, despite the large number of bystanders, initially only one citizen stepped up to try to stop the vandals: a small but undoubtedly brave woman who struggled with one of the attackers before another citizen joined in and helped her wrestle away the paint-spewing fire extinguisher.
🚨 Breaking News: Just Stop Oil Spray Stonehenge Orange
🔥 The two took action on the day before the summer solstice, demanding that the new administration sign a legally binding treaty to phase out fossil fuels by 2030.
Work together to take huge action. https://t.co/R20S8YQD1j pic.twitter.com/ufzO8ZiDWu
— Stop Oil (@JustStop_Oil) June 19, 2024
Eventually, an English Heritage staff member carrying a walkie-talkie walked slowly towards the scene of the attack. There was no sign of panic, and by the time the staff member arrived, the cans of paint had already run out and the incident was over. The attackers had time to have their picture taken with their creations before they were eventually arrested.
Just Stop Oil justified their action by stating that they needed to get governments to sign the “Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty to phase out fossil fuels”, and claimed that the orange dye could be washed off. The attack happened just hours before the summer solstice, the longest day of the year. One of the most famous features of Stonehenge, aside from the enormous effort that the ancient people put into building the structure, is the alignment of the stones to align with the sun on the summer solstice, directing light to the centre of the megaliths.
Brexit leader Nigel Farage said the vandals “should go to jail” and pointed to the Labour Party, which is likely to form the next UK government, for its support of environmental extremists. As it stands, Stonehenge has special protection under UK law. Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 Therefore, damaging the stone is a criminal offence.
Farage’s Reform Britain party accused extremists of being emboldened by the law’s “pathetic” response to past acts of vandalism and called for a stronger response. A spokesman said: “They are blinded by a false sense of moral superiority and will stop at nothing to destroy, damage and disrupt. The pathetic sentences for past acts of vandalism give them a sense of entitlement. But sooner or later the people of this island will stand up to their intimidation and disrespectful tactics and it’s time for the law to do so.”
These people should go to prison.
It is worrying that so many Labour MPs support the aims of this dangerous organisation.
— Nigel Farage (@Nigel_Farage) June 19, 2024
