Just Stop Oil protesters charged with destroying ancient protected monument after throwing orange paint powder at Stonehenge

https://www.gbnews.com/news/stonehenge-just-stop-oil-protesters-charged-destroying-ancient-monument

48 comments

  1. I’m convinced more and more everyday that these groups are funded by oil-allied organizations to help make environmentalists seem wacky instead of in the best interest of everyone.

  2. These people really are the worst. Defacing ancient monuments is something evil people do.

  3. I’m all for people having the right to protest but destroying or attempting to destroy historical artifacts is fucking stupid.

  4. Just curious what happens to anyone responsible for the massive oil spills all around the world.

  6. Man nobody on any political side wants this, you can’t fully restore, repair, or replace these monuments. I don’t get how they don’t understand that this just drive potential advocates away from their group.

  7. charges actually –

    > destroying or damaging an ancient protected monument, and intentionally or recklessly causing a public nuisance.

    Obviously there’s an “or” there, they did not succeed in *destroying* Stonehenge just did minor damage (yes defacement counts as damage), there’s probably just some specific legal charge wording involved, it’s been a protected structure under the law since, oh, [1882](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Monuments_Protection_Act_1882).

  8. How do they even get the idea to do this? Stonehenge doesn’t produce oil, and as far as I know never has (unless they’ve finally found the mystery!). They’re just fucking up the environment, to make a statement that we should save the environment.

  11. What in the world do they think they are accomplishing putting orange powder on stone henge? Wouldn’t like powdering the stock market floor or oil executives house/car be more effective and garner actual public support?

  12. Not to play defense or anything but the “destroying an ancient monument” as it is written in the title sounds a lot more dramatic than what the article actually says they were charged with, which was the more generic blanket charge of “destroying or damaging an ancient protected monument, and intentionally or recklessly causing a public nuisance”

    edit; if you’re like me and was thinking this sounded familiar, this event actually happened 4 months ago, not today when the article was written

  13. Wasn’t it like a year+ ago? I remember reading about it before.
    Maybe it happened again

    Edit: apparently it happened 4 months ago. But maybe it happened again

  14. I don’t understand the point of this, even if they blew up Stonehenge it wouldn’t hurt the oil companies at all. If their goal is to get attention, they’re going about it the wrong way because all this does is make people hate them.

  16. I’m all for climate awareness and action, but paint the fucking Exon building orange, not Stonehenge.

  17. “The incident took place the day before celebrations began for the Summer Solstice at the 5,000-year-old landmark.” WTF?

  19. once again the right to protest is being abused to destroy things

    its crazy how tolerant people are towards these terrorists

  20. What damage has been done to the monument by this protest?

  21. Wasn’t it rinse off chalk?

    Also the headache is bullshit

    It’s “destroying or damaging” it’s obviously not destroyed by chalk powder, and damage is also doing heavy lifting.

    Should they have done it? No

    Is this article trying to get people way more angry than the actual crime would make them, YES

  22. I understand that the orange powder was cornflour and would just wash away with rain. English Heritage has confirmed that there was no damage to Stone Henge. This was just a stunt to draw attention to the climate emergency. Why are people freaking out about this? Oh yes, the story is being pushed by Gbnews, that probably explains it.

  23. People will get mad at them for not doing protest that target oil infrastructure but they do. It doesn’t get coverage the only reason people even talk about them is because they do the crazy shit. Maybe I’m crazy but it seems more likely that big oil is pushing stories that get people mad at just stop oil rather than actually being funded by oil companies to make the environmental position look crazy.

    To reiterate for the people who ask why don’t they target oil infrastructure, they do. You don’t hear about because it doesn’t garner headlines. So if you support climate activism maybe you should share stores like this [one](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/apr/10/climate-activists-disrupt-supplies-from-three-oil-terminals-in-england) and then maybe they’ll stop doing fake damage to historical things.

  25. Just Stop Oil seems like they are the PETA of climate organizations.

  26. if only these people got the balls to attack big oil executives or somebody who’s in charge of climate change.

    im not advocating violence or anything but it’s pretty weak attacking stones and museums that has nothing to do with oil and climate change.

  27. How is throwing paint at historic sites gonna make people join your cause? It’s not, point blank. This is just disgusting and goes against their own supposed stance. As if these people didnt need to take a bus or a car to get to where this stonehenge is. Like great, they’ve achieved nothing expect destoring ancient history. All these wacko’s need to go rot in prison.

  29. I’m not trying to debate or advocate for or against anything here.

    The reason they use this shock strategy is to show that people will react more strongly to a symbolic act of “destroying” things than they do to the actual threat of looming climate change. The media provides more coverage and people react more passionately to their protests than to the actual threat. They’re essentially calling out society’s pearl clutching and unwillingness to take meaningful action.

    In other words, the message they are sending here is that we care more about the perceived “destruction” of Stonehenge from some temporary paint than we do about its actual destruction, either from climate change or financial interests, all while we claim to be virtuous in caring about its preservation.

  30. And yet no trial for the oil exes hastening the destruction of the ancient monument knows as PLANET EARTH. Jfc, what a waste of everybody’s time.

  32. I’m convinced this movement is compromised by Big Oil and used to make people hate environmental movements.

  34. This doesn’t fucking work.

    If you want to escalate, at least blow up a pipeline.

    Stonehenge has fuck all to do with climate change.

  35. “No one knows who they were. Or what they were doing.”

    Spinal Tap lives rent free in my head every time Stonehenge is mentioned.

  36. Maybe I’m missing something, but I’m pretty sure there is no oil development in or around Stonehenge.

  39. This organization is an agent provocateur, ie they are funded by big oil to create a sense that ‘crazy lefties’ want to destroy all of mankind’s greatest artistic achievements.

  40. Lol .. so these clowns want the history buffs, or anyone with cultural pride to hate them, and support these cause less?

    Good job!

  43. Okay lets damage something mankind build with muscle and animal power to protest the use of oil for our modern lifestyle.

    Does anyone know if the paint was petroleum derived.

  44. I so agree with their mission to encourage society to get off oil, but they go about it in the dummest way possible. They need to hit the oil and gas companies in their wallets, not annoy everyday people. If you’re gonna do some illegal actions to stop oil go blow up a pipeline or disable an oil rig, damaging art or glueing yourself to an interstate is just senseless and it makes their movement a joke.

  46. At what point do we decide to change the descriptor to vandals? Because that’s what they are.

  47. I really think these assholes work for oil as a way of delegitimizing actual activists. This does nothing but piss people off, and it’s working.

  48. My gf thinks I’m joking when I say that graffiti (and things like this) should qualify as a capital offense. You planned this beforehand, you KNOW it’s wrong, and you did it anyway. You have no value to society – straight up to execution. Fines don’t work.

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