Climate activists have used increasingly extreme tactics in recent years to spread their propaganda regarding the supposed ills of oil and other sources of energy. In many cases across the U.S. and around the world, such demonstrations have involved blocking roadways and shutting down often crucial forms of travel.
In one case, a London motorist reportedly pleaded with the extremists to allow him passage to take his young child to the hospital as law enforcement officers refused to clear the roadway.
A growing number of frustrated civilians are starting to take matters into their own hands — including, apparently, one U.S. citizen who was traveling near Panama City when he encountered a human blockade. The man, identified as 77-year-old Kenneth Darlington, allegedly brandished a firearm after exiting his vehicle and calling on the activists to clear a path.
As graphic video footage of the incident indicates, he allegedly fired his weapon, fatally injuring two of the protesters.
“This ends today,” the armed man said, according to prosecutors handling the case.
Darlington allegedly attempted to identify the leader of the demonstration and when he was told there was no one in charge, declared that he wanted to “talk to men” about the incident. Shortly after a trio of men approached him, he allegedly pulled out his gun and began tossing items out of the roadway.
Reports indicate multiple protesters goaded Darlington on, asking if he was going to shoot.
“Do you want to be the first?” he allegedly responded to one activist.
His name is Kenneth Darlington. Lawyer and professor, 77 years old. pic.twitter.com/I8b9Ib2dDs
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) November 9, 2023
Upon firing the rounds that struck two protesters, one individual died at the scene and the other was pronounced dead after being transported to a local hospital.
“This is the end of the problem,” Darlington, a retired attorney, allegedly said after the shooting.
He was arrested at the scene and is expected to face criminal charges of aggravated homicide and unlawful possession of a firearm.
“I express my condolences to the families of the two citizens who lost their lives in an incident that occurred this Tuesday in a sector of Panama Oeste,” wrote Panama President Laurentino Cortizo. “This is a fact that has no place in a society called to be supportive like ours.”
