Protesters who have sparked chaos across the United Kingdom in the last week have compared themselves to civil rights campaigner Martin Luther King and the suffragettes, who fought for the female right to vote in the early 20th century.
The comments came after two eco-warriors from activism group Just Stop Oil were removed from the Queen Elizabeth II bridge in Dartford.
Bridge design engineer Morgan Trowland, 39, and his fellow protester, a 33-year-old teacher named Marcus, were the two protesters who perched themselves atop the bridge, 60 metres above the River Thames.
The 37 hour long protest sparked traffic chaos on the M25, one of the UK's busiest motorways, causing severe delays.
After police removed the two men from the bridge, Trowland and his fellow protester spoke to Sky News about their successful disruption to 'oil supplies to Kent and the South East'.
🚨 BREAKING: MORGAN AND MARCUS DESCEND FROM DARTFORD CROSSING BRIDGE 🚨
— Just Stop Oil ⚖️💀🛢 (@JustStop_Oil) October 18, 2022
🍒 After a successful 37 hour occupation, Morgan and Marcus descended from Queen Elizabeth II Bridge on a giant cherrypicker, having majorly disrupted fuel deliveries from Essex to the South East of England. pic.twitter.com/ailp1zKaGw
"Many people will get angry about this and I understand that anger," Trowland said, as per Sky News.
"But in other times in history the Suffragettes were widely hated by most of the population. For decades they did much more extreme acts of disobedience. Martin Luther King was reviled in America in the early 1960s - sometimes people hate the thing that needs to come next."
He added: "Only direct action will now help to reach the social tipping point we so urgently need."
In the interview, the bridge engineer admitted that he understands it is frustrating to be stuck in traffic or late to work due to protests.
"I know it's awful to be disrupted and it's frustrating, but I would ask people disrupted by this to have a thought and empathy for the 33 million people in Pakistan this summer who have been driven out of their homes by floodwaters caused by the climate crisis, caused by our oil and gas, developed here in Britain."
— Just Stop Oil ⚖️💀🛢 (@JustStop_Oil) October 18, 2022
He then added: "I'm not sorry for trying to protect the land, my people, I'm not sorry."
Their comments come shortly after Just Stop Oil revealed it will continue with 'non-violent civil disobedience' in the coming months until the Truss government revokes newly granted oil and gas licences it says are 'frankly a death sentence'.
Just last week, activists formed three roadblocks between Knightsbridge and Brompton Road in London - some even glueing themselves to the tarmac in a bid to bring traffic to a halt.
Days later, more activists sparked international uproar when they threw soup over a priceless Van Gogh painting in the National Gallery.
Just Stop Oil is the campaign that aims to halt the licensing, development, and production of oil and gas in the UK.
Featured Image Credit: Vuk Valcic / Alamy. Allen Creative / Steve Allen / Alamy.
Topics: Environment, Global Warming, News, UK News, Politics
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