Two Just Stop Oil Activists Arrested for Spraying Stonehenge with Orange Paint Ahead of Summer Solstice

Jun 19, 2024, 01:08 PM

Two activists from the group Just Stop Oil sprayed orange powder paint on the prehistoric Stonehenge monument on June 19, 2024, a day before the Summer Solstice. The protest was aimed at urging the incoming UK government to sign a legally binding treaty to phase out fossil fuels by 2030. The activists, identified as 21-year-old Niamh Lynch and 73-year-old Rajan Naidu, were arrested by Wiltshire Police on suspicion of damaging the historic site. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak condemned the act as a 'disgraceful act of vandalism,' and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer called the activists 'pathetic.' Stonehenge, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is protected under the Ancient Monuments Act, and the incident has sparked widespread outrage. The spray paint also damaged rare lichen growing on the stones, and video footage of the incident has circulated widely.