(Patriot.Buzz) – Escalating their criminal protests, unhinged climate activists targeted a renowned piece of art in London’s National Gallery and demanded that the United Kingdom halt new fossil fuel ventures.
Members of the extreme-left environmental group Just Stop Oil utilized “safety hammers” to attack the protective glass of the “Rokeby Venus,” a 17th-century masterpiece by Diego Velázquez, as visitors looked on.
Harrison Donnelly, 20, and Hanan, 22, both named in the Just Stop Oil announcement, struck the glass encasing the valuable painting and proclaimed to the bystanders that the approval of new oil and gas projects would result in millions of deaths.
“Women did not get the vote by voting; it is time for deeds not words. It is time to Just Stop Oil,” Hanan asserted, her full name withheld by the group.
Donnelly also articulated, “Politics is failing us. Politics failed women in 1914,” and emphasized, “Millions will die due to new oil and gas licenses. Millions! If we love history, if we love art, and if we love our families, we must just stop oil.”
Following their act of vandalism, the activists seated themselves before the artwork they had targeted with the hammers.
The “Rokeby Venus” is no stranger to protest-related defacement, as it was slashed by suffragettes over a hundred years ago during the struggle for women’s suffrage. Currently valued at approximately £72.5 million, the painting is a significant cultural asset.
Responding to the incident, the National Gallery’s spokesperson reported to Fox News Digital the arrest of the two individuals on suspicion of criminal damage.
“At just before 11am this morning (6 November 2023) two people entered Room 30 of the National Gallery,” the spokesperson detailed. They apparently struck the “Rokeby Venus” with tools resembling emergency rescue hammers.
Upon the arrest of the pair and the evacuation of the room, the painting was promptly inspected by conservators. The gallery space was reopened later, displaying an alternative piece, “A Dead Soldier.”
This act follows a recent event where Just Stop Oil faced public disapproval after interrupting a London performance of “Les Miserables,” which led to its cancellation and the arrest of five individuals for aggravated trespass by the Metropolitan Police. During the disturbance, activists unfurled a flag and chanted their slogan, prompting boos from the audience as the cast was escorted offstage.
