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2 charged over orange spray attack on Stonehenge monuments

2 charged over orange spray attack on Stonehenge monuments

LONDON (AP) — Two environmental activists charged orange paint powder spraying It happened in June at the Stonehenge monuments in southwestern England, police said on Thursday.

Rajan Naidu, 73, and Niamh Lynch, 22, were charged with “destroying or damaging a protected ancient monument and deliberately or recklessly causing a public nuisance”, Wiltshire Police said in a statement. They will appear at Salisbury Magistrates’ Court on December 13.

Shortly after the spray attack at the UNESCO World Heritage Site, the group Just Stop Oil claimed responsibility and released a video showing a man it identified as Naidu using a fire extinguisher to spray an orange mist onto one of the vertical stones. The second protester, identified as Lynch, was sprayed with three rocks before being stopped. We were told that the paint was made from corn starch and would melt in the rain.

Following the protest, charity English Heritage, which manages hundreds of historical sites, said experts quickly removed the orange dust from the stones.

Stonehenge was built in stages on a windswept plain in southern England, starting 5,000 years ago. Although the stone circle aligns with sunrise on the summer solstice and sunset on the winter solstice, its origin and purpose remain somewhat of a mystery, though it has attracted the attention of spiritists, druids, and sun-worshiping crowds.

The publicity stunt was one of Just Stop Oil’s long-running series of disruptive actions to draw attention to the climate crisis. Protests were stopped sports eventsstained famous works of art And caused traffic congestion. The actions led to convictions, prison sentences and widespread criticism.

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