A jury found two young people who spray-painted two private jets at Stansted Airport in June 2024 guilty of criminal damage at Chelmsford Crown Court on Thursday 18 September. They took action with Just Stop Oil to demand the UK government negotiate a treaty to phase out fossil fuels by 2030.
Just Stop Oil Stansted action: court finds activists guilty of criminal damage
Jennifer Kowalski, 29, from Dumbarton, and Cole Macdonald, 23, from Brighton, had cut through the wire perimeter fence and sprayed paint from a fire extinguisher onto two private jets parked at Stansted Airport. This was just hours after Taylor Swift’s plane had landed.
After the four day trial, the jury returned a unanimous guilty verdict. Sentencing will be on the 27 October.
During the trial, the prosecution argued that the two planes required extensive professional cleaning after the action. The total cost of cleaning was around £12,000.
The defendants told the jury they did not set out to cause damage. They explained that they had deliberately avoided spraying the engines and cockpits and believed the diluted paint would wash off easily. They argued that they lacked the necessary criminal intent: they neither intended to cause damage nor realised that damage was a likely consequence of their actions.
Calling out Taylor Swift’s apathy on the climate crisis
In her defence Jennifer Kowalski explained that they had designed the action to target Taylor Swift’s plane because of her personal interest in the famous singer and the immense influence that she carries. She said:
She’s one of the most famous people in the world; she’s talked about everywhere, she’s the only singer ever to be named Time Magazine Person of the Year; she earned 2 billion dollars last year; reporters devote their lives to covering her; if we devoted that much energy to tackling climate change we could change things.
I thought a lot about what she might say – if we could get her attention – if she saw this it might get a reaction from her, from a place of care from a fan, instead of from a place of apathy – she’s famous for saying how much she loves her fans, and yet her fans are dying because of climate change.
At trial, judge Mill ruled that the damage was too serious for the rights to free expression and assembly under Articles 10 and 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights to apply. As a result, Mill did not ask the jury to consider whether a restriction on the defendants rights to protest was proportionate response in the light of the alleged damage. In other words, judge Mill blocked the defence from the trial.
Climate crisis eras tour: ‘the era of global boiling’
Following the verdict Cole MacDonald said:
We were released from remand the day before the general election that elected a left wing government and that under that government the country has slipped into fascism and has become continually more corrupt.
Jennifer Kowalski said:
I broke into Stansted airport to spray paint Taylor Swift’s private jet because this is a dangerous time – the era of global boiling. This era will not end when it’s time for a new album – it’s the era to end all others.
When I look out people’s windows, I see entire settlements swept off the map and thousands killed by climate disasters. On this reckless path 1 billion people will be displaced by 2050. When you strip people of their basic rights and cram them into perilous conditions violence inevitably ensues.
But it’s not too late to be brand new. I just think you are what you love. And I’ll fight for the music and people I love. Won’t you?
While two young people face an uncertain penalty for taking action targeting private jet use, 80% of the world’s population has never taken a flight. Just 1% of people cause 50% of global aviation emissions.
Meanwhile, private jet users are responsible for up to 14 times more carbon emissions than a commercial flight. A single flight in a private jet can easily emit as much carbon dioxide as the average annual carbon footprint for an EU citizen – 8.2 tonnes.
Private aviation contributed at least 15.6 million tonnes carbon dioxide in direct emissions in 2023, or about 3.6 tonnes per flight. Almost half of all flights (47.4%) are shorter than 500km. Private aviation is concentrated in the US, where owners have registered 68.7% of aircraft.
Feature image supplied.
