Two Just Stop Oil agitators have been arrested after vandalizing Stonehenge with "orange cornstarch" on Wednesday. Niamh Lynch, 21, and Rajan Naidu, 73, were taken into custody on suspicion of damaging the national treasure, which dates back to around 3100 to 1600 BCE.
The pair's actions have been widely criticized with everyone from stunned tourists to politicians calling them out for defacing the ancient monument. Despite the backlash, they have remained steadfast in their belief that their actions were justified.
Footage of the incident showed Lynch, an Oxford student, and Naidu, a Quaker with a history of disruptive climate protests, walking up to the massive stones and spraying them with an orange substance.
"Either we end the fossil fuel era, or the fossil fuel era will end us," Naidu said, per the Daily Mail. "The orange cornflour we used to create an eye-catching spectacle will soon wash away with the rain, but the urgent need for effective government action to mitigate the catastrophic consequences of the climate and ecological crisis will not."
His sentiments were shared by Lynch, who said, "Stonehenge at solstice is all about celebrating the natural world – but look at the state it's in! We all have a right to live a life free from suffering, but continued burning of oil, coal and gas is leading to death and suffering on an unparalleled scale. It's time for us to think about what our civilization will leave behind – what is our legacy?"
"Standing inert for generations works well for stones – not climate policy," she added.
"Just Stop Oil are a disgrace," Conservative Party leader and former British prime minister Rishi Sunak wrote in a post on X.
"The damage to Stonehenge is outrageous," Labour Party leader Keir Starmer added. "Just Stop Oil are pathetic. Those responsible must face the full force of the law."
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage agreed that those involved "should go to prison."
