Staff Reports
Just Stop Oil, the climate activist group renowned for its performative shenanigans like splattering cornstarch on Stonehenge and dousing Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” with soup, has decided to pull the plug on its showy protests. While this may seem like a concession, critics argue it’s a part of a cultural awakening wherein the public is less tolerant of these juvenile antics disguised as activism. With a few members, including the group’s founder, sitting in jail for their fresh take on directing traffic, the narrative around climate activism is quietly shifting.
This latest decision by Just Stop Oil comes on the heels of their very own “Whoopsie Daisy” moment, after a North Dakota jury slapped Greenpeace with a hefty $667 million verdict for their protest against a pipeline—a legal smackdown the group is now appealing. A fitting end, some might say, for a group hell-bent on blocking highways and breaking the law in the name of saving the planet. It seems the bravado of climate activists is meeting its match in the form of real consequences—just the kind of “Trump effect” many naysayers are pointing to. With Trump’s reelection and his pro-energy agenda reshaping the debate, it appears the growing public sentiment is more in favor of law and order than vandalism and theatrics.
Critics contend the climate faithful have crossed a line, transitioning from peaceful advocacy to flagrant criminality. As the saying goes, “When you play stupid games, you win stupid prizes.” Sad but true, Just Stop Oil was so committed to their cause that they failed to realize they were alienating everyday citizens who just wanted to get to work or, you know, go to a funeral—certainly not to be wrapped up in protests that belong more in a kindergarten classroom than a serious debate about energy policy.
Just Stop Oil’s ceasing its violent protests part of cultural shift; the ‘Trump effect’ critics say https://t.co/QrmaFffy6r
— John Solomon (@jsolomonReports) March 28, 2025
Reports indicate that Hallam and his merry band of chaos creators received sentences for their misguided attempts at protest, likening their strategy to merely giving a “talk” over Zoom. However, one judge pointed out that the careful planning and execution of their stunts hardly support Hallam’s claims of innocence. Instead, they show a disturbing trend where protesters believe the end justifies the means, no matter how many citizens are inconvenienced along the way. In essence, they went from well-meaning crusaders to zealots with too much time on their hands.
The gall of Just Stop Oil to claim they’ve prevented 4.4 barrels of oil from being extracted while simultaneously ignoring the fact that fossil fuel use has not only continued but exploded under pro-energy policies is laughable. They tout legal victories as if they are wins for climate change when, in reality, they’re just reinforcing that their brand of activism has become a joke. Most of the public recognizes that the temperatures have been manipulated in the narrative, making climate change less a crisis and more just another buzzword for political agendas that don’t quite land with voters concerned about real issues like the economy.
As Just Stop Oil prepares for one final, “lower-risk” protest, perhaps they’ve finally realized that the public is done with their antics. The impending showdown at Parliament Square is poised to be less of a dramatic finale and more of a whimper as people move on to pressing issues that actually affect them. It is evident that time’s up for a movement that was built on a foundation of chaos and misdirection. The world has other priorities, and as the roars of the highway grow quiet, climate zealots appear set to fade into the background, perhaps to be replaced by activists who wield a little more sense and a lot less soup.
