The orange paint may have been washed off at Stonehenge, but officials say the attack might have caused both physical and “spiritual” harm. 

The climate change activist group Just Stop Oil defaced the ancient monument Wednesday by spraying orange paint made from cornflour. They resumed their attacks today by breaking into London’s Stansted Airport and painting multiple private jets the same color.

The chief executive of English Heritage, Nick Merriman, said that while there appears to be no visible damage, the demonstration still caused considerable “spiritual” harm.

The harm comes “from the very act of having to clean the stones to the distress caused to those for whom Stonehenge holds a spiritual significance,” he said in a statement. 

“The ancient stones are a testament to the desire of people – from prehistoric times to today – to connect with nature, the earth, the sun and the moon, as well as, crucially, each other,” he added.

Mr. Merriman was quick to denounce the actions of the Just Stop Oil demonstrators Wednesday.

“We can’t understand why anyone who professes to care for the environment would attempt to harm such a monument and to distress people from all over the world, including those for whom Stonehenge holds a spiritual significance,” he said.

Officials quickly removed the paint from the stones to protect lichens from growing on them, and reported that if the paint came into contact with water, it would leave semi-permanent streaks on the monument.

Meanwhile, Just Stop Oil continued its antics with activists Jennifer Kowalski and Cole Macdonald cutting the fence into Stansted airport and dousing two private jets in orange paint around 5 a.m. today. Ms. Kowalski and Mr. Macdonald were arrested under suspicion of criminal damage and interference with the use or operation of national infrastructure.

This demonstration comes after the group explicitly declared airports as a site of “nonviolent civil resistance” on its website. 

The pair continued to demand that the incoming British government work to end the extraction and burning of gas, oil, and coal by 2030.

“We’re living in two worlds: one where billionaires live in luxury, able to fly in private jets away from the other, where unlivable conditions are being imposed on countless millions,” Mr. Macdonald said.

The group also continues to threaten “proportional action necessary” to generate political pressure across Europe if governments do not respond to their demands. 

While the group claimed in a post on X that Taylor Swift’s jet was parked at the airfield, Essex police said that her plane was not present at the time of the vandalism.