Two Just Stop Oil protesters have been found guilty of causing criminal damage to a Vincent Van Gogh painting’s frame after gluing themselves to it.
Louis McKechnie, 22, and Emily Brocklebank, 23, caused about £2,000 of damage to the frame of Peach Trees In Blossom at London’s Courtauld Gallery.
McKechnie was jailed for three weeks while Brocklebank received a suspended sentence.
The punishments being dished out to these vandals is far too trivial. It needs to be hefty enough to make others think twice, so several years apiece along with hefty fines to pay for the damage.
She had said: “I didn’t think I would cause much damage. Glue comes off.”
I know that membership of this egregious organisation requires a lack of intellect but even so, this comment says it all. These people may well be educated, but they are still thick. After all, they believe all the claptrap that Roger Hallam has been telling them, which any rational, sane, thinking individual would reject as hysterical nonsense unsupported by any scientific evidence.
Giving her verdict at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, she said: “An 18th Century frame which is hundreds of years old has been permanently damaged. It is not in a state where it can return to its original state.”
This is a cult. It’s a cult that has got way out of hand. We are no longer talking about the issues surrounding the right to protest, because what they are doing is not protesting. They are breaking existing laws, they are committing civil torts against property. So, yes prosecute, sue and extract damages from them. Sue them to penury and lock them up for extensive periods of time. Make the bastards suffer.
Maybe, maybe, Hallam will find that his band of mindless supporters starts to dwindle.
I’ll leave the final word to the defence in a jaw-dropping statement.
Defending the pair, solicitor Francesca Cociani asked one of the gallery’s curators, Karen Serres, whether the artwork had increased in value “because of the protest it was subject to by the defendants”.
She asked: “Say the [Courtauld] Institute was to sell it on in 20 to 30 years, is it possible its value would now increase?”
That makes it okay, then…
A recent survey, I can’t remember where now, had belief in climate disaster was now less than 50%. Slowly people are coming to their senses on the issue. The disasterous results of all the witless green government policies, which any intelligent person could predict, are now starting to become obvious. The Germans seem to be particularly in thrall to the climate loons and are now reaping the benefits. Meanwhile I have been making sure the genny is fettled and fueled up and installing battery powered LED lights around the house. There was a power cut at Northpoint shopping centre in Hull yesterday. Remember the 1970s when we just lit some candles and carried on? It isn’t so simple now, non of the tills work, the whole shopping centre was closed down. After the power came back on Boyes was still closed, a hand written sign said that the power cut had caused a technical problem with the tills.
Cult: Followers of an unorthodox, extremist, or false religion or sect who often live outside of conventional society under the direction of a charismatic leader.
I suspect that charismatic leaders are careful to remain within the law nowadays. Perhaps the HMRC could investigate? It worked against Al Capone.
The establishment has no interest in pursuing these people; that prosecution is merely a sop. It’s been known for a long time that Russia supports the anti fracking crowd here (even the Guardian covered it: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/jun/19/russia-secretly-working-with-environmentalists-to-oppose-fracking). If they really cared, that would have come up following the invasion of Ukraine. The fact it hasn’t says a great deal, none of it good.
‘Russian collusion’ by ‘environmentalists’. Who’d a thunk it?
Why did the female receive a lesser sentence for the same crime?
Meh, she probably cried a bit in Court, that always works
First time offender, probably. The other scrote is a recidivist
If the anti fracking movement is widely known to be supported by Russia in order that Russia can sell more gas, then surely it would be really stupid to block fracking as a response. The very fact that the movement is backed by people with borderline hostile intent means that any sane and competent government would ignore them.
Ah, yeah, sane and competent. I see the flaw in your argument here.
Messing with critical infrastructure (blocking roads and railways etc) while being funded by a foreign power…
Isn’t that treason.