Local officials reported that they arrested two climate protesters on Wednesday for allegedly pouring orange paint on England’s Stonehenge monument.
The Just Stop Oil protestors splashed the monument with orange paint on Wednesday, one day before the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, according to an environmental activist group’s statement on the social media platform X.
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The two people were “demanding the incoming government sign up to a legally binding treaty to phase out fossil fuels by 2030,” according to Just Stop Oil.
Wiltshire Police arrested the two demonstrators near Salisbury, England, on suspicion of causing damage to one of the world’s most iconic prehistoric monuments and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The manager of the ancient site, English Heritage, described the incident as “extremely upsetting”, and curators are investigating the extent of the damage.
Just Stop Oil reported that the paint applied to the 4,500-year-old stone circle was made of orange cornflour, which dissolves in rain.
The group said the decision was in response to the Labour Party’s recently announced manifesto, which pledged not to issue new oil and gas exploration permits if it won the July 4 election. Just Stop Oil supports the decision but believes it is insufficient.
“Continuing to burn coal, oil, and gas will cause millions of deaths. We must band together to save mankind or risk losing everything,” a Just Stop Oil representative said in a statement.
According to the group, the two demonstrators are Niamh Lynch, 21, an Oxford student, and Rajan Naidu, 73, of Birmingham, England.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak criticized Wednesday’s demonstration, writing on X: “Just Stop Oil is a disgrace.”
Labour leader Keir Starmer, Sunak’s main opponent in the 2018 election, called Just Stop Oil “pathetic” and the damage to Stonehenge “outrageous.”
According to the Associated Press, the Labour Party is currently ahead in the polls, and several analysts and politicians believe the party will lead the next administration.
Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain will host thousands of visitors on Thursday to commemorate the summer solstice. The construction of the ancient site began 5,000 years ago, but the renowned stone circle dates back to the late Neolithic period, around 2,500 B.C.
