It was going to be pretty dramatic: Fake blood covering a British government building.
The climate activists — called Extinction Rebellion — were ready atop a fire truck, armed with a large fire hose that was hooked up to hundreds of gallons of fake blood. Their mission was to coat the treasury’s building in Westminster.
Just imagine the visuals.
It all started off just perfectly. Four protesters, dressed in black, stood stoically on top of the truck. A banner reading “Stop funding climate death” was attached to the side.
Two of the Extinction Rebellion members grabbed ahold of the hose. The water was released and a strong blast of bright red liquid struck the white stone of the 100-year-old structure.
But then it all went so wrong.
The hose sprung free from the nozzle and, through the sheer force of the water, sent itself down onto the street below. Onlookers were soaked with the red liquid.
Some on the ground attempted to wrangle the hose as it sprayed water all over the place.
After several minutes, water was shut off to the hose. With the surrounding street covered in red water, the four continued to stand atop the fire truck.
The BBC News reports the protesters say they were there “highlighting the inconsistency between the UK government’s insistence that the UK is a world leader in tackling climate breakdown, and the vast sums it pours into fossil fuel exploration.”
The Met Police told the BBC that five men and three women were arrested on suspicion of criminal damage.
