A third person has been charged following an incident at Stonehenge in which orange powder was sprayed on the ancient monument during a Just Stop Oil protest.
Luke Watson, 35, of Manuden, Bishop’s Stortford, has been charged with one count of aiding, abetting, counselling and/or procuring destroying or damaging an ancient protected monument, and one count of aiding, abetting, counselling and/or procuring causing a public nuisance.
He is due to appear at Salisbury Magistrates’ Court on December 13 for a first hearing, Wiltshire Police said.
Rajan Naidu, 73, and Niamh Lynch, 22, were previously charged with destroying or damaging an ancient protected monument, and intentionally or recklessly causing a public nuisance and will appear at the same court on December 13.
Following the protest on June 19, English Heritage said experts had quickly removed the orange powder from the stones.
Video footage posted on social media showed two people wearing white shirts with the slogan Just Stop Oil, approaching the monoliths with canisters spraying orange powder paint.
Several of the iconic stones – dating back to the late Neolithic period – were seen covered in orange paint before one protester sat on the grass and the other was detained by a member of the public.
One man could be heard shouting: ‘You dirty scum. This is a temple, not a publicity stunt!’, as the pair were led away by officers.
A third person has been charged following a Just Stop Oil protest at Stonehenge
JSO activists sprayed the ancient monument with orange paint in June
One woman was seen desperately trying to drag the protesters away during the incident
The protest was described by Sir Keir Starmer as ‘a disgraceful act of vandalism’.
A spokeswoman for English Heritage described the spraying of paint at the Stonehenge stones as ‘extremely upsetting’.
She said: ‘Orange powdered paint has been thrown at a number of the stones at Stonehenge.
‘Obviously, this is extremely upsetting and our curators are investigating the extent of the damage. Stonehenge remains open to the public.’
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.
Rajan Naidu, 73, and Niamh Lynch, 21, ran up to the stone circle at around 12pm
‘We have to come together to defend humanity or we risk everything. 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.
‘Failure to commit to defending our communities 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.
‘Stone circles can be found in every part of Europe showing how we’ve always cooperated across vast distances – we’re building on that legacy.’