The Metropolitan Police arrested one of the leaders of Extinction Rebellion’s ‘Walk of Shame’ protest for reparations in the City of London after breaching coronavirus restrictions on organising mass gatherings.
On Friday, approximately 200 Extinction Rebellion activists gathered outside the Bank of England, going on to demonstrate in front of other British financial institutions, such as Lloyd’s of London and Aviva, for their role in the slave trade.
One of the leaders of the march, who referred to himself as “Rainbow Surfer”, was arrested by the police for breaching the lockdown restrictions which prohibit the organising of an event of more than 30 people, which has recently become punishable with a £10,000 fine.
In a Breitbart London exclusive video, the XR leader said that he was there to represent “the trees, the bees, the seas, the water, and the cats”, telling a police officer officer: “I do not understand your authority.”
The unidentified man only referred to himself as “Rainbow Surfer” when asked by police for his name. As he was loaded onto the police van, straggling members of the Extinction Rebellion protest shouted out “Reparations Rebellion!”
The arrest came just hours before the climate change extremist group blockaded the printworks responsible for printing British newspapers owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News UK, preventing the shipment of the papers on Saturday morning.
The stunt was the latest in XR’s ‘We Want to Live’ campaign, which is attempting to pressure the British parliament to pass the Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill.
Following the blockade, there have been increasing calls for the government to clamp down on the disruptive eco-warriors, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson saying: “A free press is vital in holding the government and other powerful institutions to account on issues critical for the future of our country, including the fight against climate change.”
“It is completely unacceptable to seek to limit the public’s access to news in this way,” Johnson added.
A report from one of the affected newspapers, The Telegraph, suggested that the government is considering taking a harder line on Extinction Rebellion, and may even treat it as an organised criminal group, which could result in Extinction Rebellion being policed by Britain’s equivalent to the FBI, the National Crime Agency (NCA).
The government is also reportedly mulling the idea of introducing new police powers to detain the climate protesters and to prevent them from disrupting core “tenets of democracy”, such as the printing and distribution of newspapers, judges attending court, and MPs voting in Parliament.
So far, the Metropolitan Police have issued at least £200,000 in fines for breaching the ban on organising mass gatherings of over 30 people.
The suggestion that the government will crack down on Extinction Rebellion was hailed by Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage, who wrote on social media: “I am pleased that the government is talking tough on the appalling behaviour of Extinction Rebellion… but talking tough and acting are two very different things.”
Follow Kurt on Twitter at @KurtZindulka
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.