Just Stop Oil protesters have been charged after Stonehenge was covered in orange paint.
Rajan Naidu, 73, and Niamh Lynch, 22, have been charged with destroying or damaging an ancient protected monument after orange paint powder was thrown at Stonehenge during a Just Stop Oil protest in June, Wiltshire Police said.
Video footage showed members of the public trying to stop the protestors as they sprayed the powder across the stones.
A spokesperson for English Heritage described the incident as “extremely upsetting.”
Following the incident, Naidu, from Birmingham, said: “Either we end the fossil fuel era, or the fossil fuel era will end us.
“Just as fifty years ago, when the world used international treaties to defuse the threats posed by nuclear weapons, today the world needs a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty to phase out fossil fuels and to support dependent economies, workers and communities to move away from oil, gas and coal.”
In quotes provided by Just Stop Oil, Miss Lynch, thought to be a student from Oxford, said the continued burning of oil, coal and gas was leading to “death and suffering”.
“It’s time for us to think about what our civilization will leave behind – what is our legacy?” she said.
“Standing inert for generations works well for stones – not climate policy.”
English Heritage describes Stonehenge as perhaps the world’s most famous prehistoric monument.
It was built in several stages, with the first an early henge monument erected about 5,000 years ago.
The stone circle was erected in the late Neolithic period, about 2,500 BC. Burial mounds were built nearby in the early Bronze Age. Stonehenge, together with Avebury, forms the heart of a World Heritage Site.
A Just Stop Oil spokesperson said at the time: “The UK’s Government in waiting has committed to enacting Just Stop Oil’s original demand of ‘no new oil and gas’.
“However, we all know this is not enough. Continuing to burn coal, oil and gas will result in the death of millions.
“We have to come together to defend humanity or we risk everything.”
Sophie Stevens, Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS Wessex said: “The Crown Prosecution Service has authorised Wiltshire Police to charge Naidu Rajan and Niamh Lynch with offences related to damage caused to the protected monument Stonehenge on 19 June 2024.
“They will appear at Salisbury Magistrates’ Court on December 13 2024 for a first hearing.
“I would like to remind all concerned that there are active criminal proceedings against these individuals, and they have the right to a fair trial.
“There must be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online that may in any way prejudice these proceedings.”
