Oil just stopped: Activists wrestled to the ground as they tried to spray-paint dinosaurs at exhibition
10 April 2023, 15:58 | Updated: 10 April 2023, 16:58
Eco-activists were tackled and wrestled to the ground at a dinosaur exhibition in Coventry as they tried to vault railings to disrupt the display.
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Two protesters were stopped dramatically by guards as they climbed into the 'Dippy the Dinosaur' display at Coventry's Herbert Art Gallery and Museum.
It was the latest in a series of attempts by Just Stop Oil activists to disrupt public exhibitions, including when a woman threw tomato soup on Sunflowers by Vincent Van Gogh in the National Portrait Gallery in London.
Footage published online by the eco-zealots shows Daniel Knorr, 21, and Victoria Lindsell, 67, climb over the barrier before security staff wearing high-vis jackets bring them down.
One security guard is seen shouting: "Stop it, stop it now, do you understand?" Another takes Ms Lindsell's rucksack.
Just Stop Oil tackled in Coventry
Both protesters remove their jumpers to show white 'Just Stop Oil' t-shirts underneath.
West Midlands Police officers arrested the activists and led them away afterwards.
A spokesperson confirmed that officers had arrested two people on suspicion of criminal damage, adding that "two large bags of dry paint were also seized by officers".
A spokesperson for Just Stop Oil said: 'Two supporters of Just Stop Oil were arrested at the Herbert Museum in Coventry this morning whilst demanding that the government stop all new UK fossil fuel projects and calling on employees and directors of UK cultural institutions to join in civil resistance against the government’s genocidal policies."
Ms Lindsell, a teacher from Leamington in Warwickshire, said she had joined the group to take radical action because "nothing else has moved our genocidal Government to act for the welfare of all".
Mr Knorr, a student from Oxford said he took part because "we're barrelling towards suffering, mass death and the annihilation of our species".
