Just Stop Oil protesters arrested after interrupting Wimbledon matches
Just Stop Oil environmental protesters were arrested Wednesday after interrupting two matches at Wimbledon.
During the second set of the first round match between Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov and Japan’s Sho Shimabukuro, two activists wearing Just Stop Oil T-shirts ran onto the court and threw orange confetti and scattered a 1,000-piece puzzle.
The pair — identified as retired teacher Deborah Wilde and musician Simon Milner-Edwards — were quickly escorted away and arrested by London police.
“Forget strawberries and cream, scientists are warning of impending food shortages, mass displacement and war,” Wilde said in a statement published by Just Stop Oil after her arrest. “We are facing new pandemics, economic inflation and increasingly authoritarian governments who will attempt to crush civil unrest. This is a crisis and it needs a crisis response.”
The crowd booed as the players sat and stadium staff cleaned up.
“Following an incident on Court 18, two individuals have been arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespass and criminal damage and these individuals have now been removed from the Grounds,” Wimbledon tweeted.
However, a second match at the same court was disrupted later when another activist ran onto the court and littered confetti and a jigsaw puzzle pieces during a match between Britain’s Katie Boulter and Australia’s Daria Saville.
That protester — identified as retired civil engineer William John Ward — was quickly arrested “on suspicion of aggravated trespass and criminal damage,” according to a tweet update by the tournament.
It’s unclear how the protesters were able to evade the beefed up security at Wimbledon, which includes bag checks, body searches and undercover officers, according to The Guardian. A total of 19 items were prohibited, including chalk, glue, zip ties and chains.
After the disruptions, Just Stop Oil said the group demanded “that the UK government halts all new licenses and consents for oil, gas and coal.”
The protest came a two days after the hottest day ever recorded, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service.
In April, a Just Stop Oil demonstrator emerged from the crowd at the World Snooker Championship in Britain and threw orange powder onto one of the playing tables.
Last month, activists smeared paint on a Monet at a Swedish museum and glued themselves to the frame. And last October, Just Stop Oil members splashed a Van Gogh with tomato soup at London’s National Gallery.
