Climate activist group Just Stop Oil claimed responsibility Thursday for the vandalism of two private jets at an airfield in the United Kingdom after they erroneously believed Taylor Swift’s jet had landed, according to the BBC.
The organization said they targeted the airfield because Swift’s jet had “landed hours ago” there, but airport officials later denied the claim, the BBC reported. Essex Police also arrested two of the activists, according to a press release. (RELATED: Radical Enviros Backed By Rich American Liberals Deface Stonehenge)
Just Stop Oil tweeted a video of Cole Macdonald, one of the two suspects who broke into the airport and vandalized the jets, discussing the act.
🔥 Cole Macdonald, 22, from Brighton, is one of the two people who painted jets in the airfield where Taylor Swift’s private jet landed hours ago.
💸 Support young people like Cole taking action — https://t.co/UwALfVtRmR pic.twitter.com/sH5qO1hyji
— Just Stop Oil (@JustStop_Oil) June 20, 2024
“I’ve spray painted two private jets orange. We need an international treaty against the burning of all oil, coal, and gas. While people are starving, the elite and the rich fly thousands and thousands of feet in the air above us all. Billionaires are not untouchable,” Macdonald says in the video.
Another video tweeted out by Open Source Intel showed how the two activists gained entry to the airfield by sawing off a section of the fence, and spraying painting the two jets.
Just Stop Oil activists have recently spray-painted an orange color on a private jet… no idea who owns this jet pic.twitter.com/CDet1sbGuv
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) June 20, 2024
“I would like to reassure passengers and the wider public that we are well prepared and resourced to deal with incidents of this nature,” Essex Police Chief Superintendent Simon Anslow said.
Following the vandalism, the airport took precautionary measures that included a brief suspension of runway operations, an airport spokesman reportedly said.
