Three Just Stop Oil activists were cleared of criminal damage after a protest at Stonehenge in which orange powder was sprayed on the site. Rajan Naidu, 74, Niamh Lynch, 23, and Luke Watson, 36, faced charges of damaging a protected monument and causing a public nuisance on 19 June 2024. The incident involved two colour blasters filled with cornflour, talc and orange dye.

The court heard Naidu and Lynch crossed boundary ropes and entered the area around the stones, while Watson supplied the equipment and drove them to the site. The protesters said the action formed part of a fossil fuel protest linked to Just Stop Oil and occurred the day before the summer solstice, when about 15,000 people were due to gather.

Prosecutors argued the act was planned to make a statement, but the jury found all three not guilty of both charges after about six hours of deliberation. The defence cited rights under Articles 10 and 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights, arguing the protest was peaceful and did not cause lasting damage. The stones were cleaned afterwards and the bill for removing the powder was £620. Judge Paul Dugdale told the jury to balance the rights at issue with the offence, noting Stonehenge is a protected ancient monument visited by people from around the world.