Climate activists criticize Taylor Swift after a group sprayed paint on private jets

(NEXSTAR) – Climate activists from the group Just Stop Oil sprayed paint on private jets at England’s Stansted Airport on Thursday morning. The group suggested that the airport was the target of the action because “Taylor Swift’s jet is parked there.”

An airport spokesman could not say whether the activists damaged Swift’s jets or whether Swift used the airport ahead of her London concerts over the weekend. However, the Associated Press reported, citing local police, that none of the planes attacked during Thursday’s demonstration belonged to the pop star.

In a video shared by Just Stop Oil on social media, an activist can be seen using a battery-powered saw to cut through what appears to be a fence surrounding the airfield. The same person then uses a fire extinguisher to spray paint two jets parked on the tarmac.

At the end of the video, the activist and another woman, both wearing T-shirts reading “Just Stop Oil,” hug in front of the destroyed jets.

“Jennifer and Cole cut the fence at Stansted’s private airport where Taylor Swift’s jet is parked and called for an emergency deal to phase out fossil fuels by 2030,” the caption of the video on Instagram reads.

The two women, aged 22 and 28, were later arrested “on suspicion of criminal damage and disrupting the use or operation of national infrastructure,” Essex Police said in a press release.

Police also said Taylor Swift’s plane was not at Stansted at the time, even though Taylor was in London this weekend for three concerts, The Associated Press learned. A representative for Essex Police did not immediately respond to Nexstar’s request for further comment.

“We responded to the scene almost immediately after learning of this incident, which occurred away from the main passenger terminal,” Essex Police wrote in the press release.

The department later added: “We are not against protests, but we will intervene whenever criminal acts occur.”

Operations on the runway at Stansted were briefly suspended following a call to police, but there were no flight disruptions, a Stansted spokesperson confirmed to Nexstar.

A representative for Just Stop Oil was not immediately available for comment.

Thursday’s incident came a day after climate activists – also wearing Just Stop Oil T-shirts – were arrested after spraying paint on Stonehenge, a UNESCO World Heritage site in Wiltshire, England. Just Stop Oil later said the paint was made from corn starch and would not cause permanent damage.