Two climate activists were arrested on Thursday after they allegedly cut a fence at a London area airport and spray-painted two private jets orange. Two activists from the group Just Stop Oil appeared to be targeting pop singer Taylor Swift’s private jet, which they believed was parked at the Stansted Airport.
In a statement, Just Stop Oil named the vandals as Jennifer Kowalski and Cole Macdonald. The group posted a video on X where a person was shown using a power tool to slice through a security fence and using a fire extinguisher to spray paint a jet with bright orange paint. Swift’s jet was reportedly not at the airport. The pop star is in London to do three shows at Wembley Stadium.
Reportedly, the stunt was meant to gain attention for a Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty.
“We’re living in two worlds: one where billionaires live in luxury, able to fly in private jets away from the other, where unlivable conditions are being imposed on countless millions,” said 22-year-old Macdonald. “Meanwhile, this system that is allowing extreme wealth to be accrued by a few, to the detriment of everyone else, is destroying the conditions necessary to support human life in a rapidly accelerating never-ending ‘cruel summer’. Billionaires are not untouchable, climate breakdown will affect every single one of us.”
Macdonald’s accomplice Kowalski said, “Over the years, I’ve had to realise that even working in sustainability provides me with essentially no ability to make the necessary changes to prevent the complete collapse of our natural systems. I have to take desperate measures to make my voice heard.”
“In 2024 we all have to be considering what we can do each day to change the course our society is on. We need an emergency treaty to stop the extraction and burning of oil, gas and coal by 2030,” Kowalski added.
Just Stop Oil threatened more incidents unless their demands are met.
“Whilst governments are allowing oil corporations to run amok destroying our communities, the actions of individuals mean very little. That’s why Just Stop Oil is demanding that our next government sign up to a legally binding treaty to phase out fossil fuels by 2030,” a group spokesman said.
The action comes just one day after the group similarly defaced the prehistoric megalithic structure at Stonehenge on the Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire in Southwest England. Just Stop Oil took credit for that stunt as well, which was not paint but an orange cornflour mixture. The group again promised more chicanery should their demands not be met.
“Failure to defend the people they represent will mean Just Stop Oil supporters, along with citizens from Austria, Canada, Norway, the Netherlands and Switzerland will join in resistance this summer, if their own Governments do not take meaningful action,” the group proclaimed.
Just Stop Oil is one of several stunt-focused groups that have been disrupting sporting events, defacing priceless art, and vandalizing precious national documents in their quest to gain attention for their pet cause of climate change. How long will it be until one of these groups does actual damage or causes physical harm to someone? Will it take a tragedy before these psychotic protesters finally face unintended consequences of their actions?
