Two activists affiliated with the environmental group Just Stop Oil were arrested this Wednesday (19) after vandalizing the famous megalithic monument of Stonehenge, in Wiltshire, in southwest England, with orange paint.
Wiltshire Police said the two will face charges of damaging a historic monument, while investigations remain ongoing.
The act of vandalism took place in front of witnesses, citizens who were visiting Stonehenge and who tried to intervene to prevent the action, according to a video released by the group itself on its website and social media.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who is in the midst of an election campaign, classified the episode as an act of vandalism.
In a statement, the environmental group said the aim of the protest was to “demand” that the country’s next government sign an international plan to eliminate fossil fuels by 2030, and assured that the paint will disappear with the rain.
However, heritage protection organization English Heritage is still assessing the impact of paint on the stones, which are part of a World Heritage site built between 3,100 and 1,600 BC.
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