British police announced today that they made 52 arrests during an operation on the fringes of coronation ceremony of King Charles.
Those arrested are being held for a range of offences, including affray, disturbing the peace and conspiracy to cause a public nuisance.
In a statement, London police said all those arrested remain in custody, and defended their action to make the much-criticized arrests, saying they had information about plans to disrupt the historic event.
Law enforcement arrested dozens of environmentalists planning actions along the royal procession route, as well as at least six anti-monarchy activists, including Republic leader Graham Smith, who had staged a demonstration in Trafalgar Square.
Clarifying that it had arrested 52 people, who remain in custody for disturbing the peace late on Saturday afternoon, London’s Metropolitan Police said it had “received information indicating that protesters wanted to disrupt the royal procession”.
“They included information indicating that individuals wanted to attempt to vandalize monuments with paint, breach barricades and disrupt official traffic,” Scotland Yard said.
This seems to allude to the kind of actions of the environmental movement Just Stop Oil whose activists were arrested, but the police do not clearly explain the arrest of anti-monarchy protesters whose banners reading “Not my King” were confiscated.
However, that did not stop hundreds of anti-monarchists from demonstrating as the royal procession passed, a limited presence but unthinkable under Elizabeth II’s reign.
The police action, which had deployed more than 11,000 officers today, was criticized by human rights groups.
The subway was taken just days after the hasty approval of a controversial new law that strengthens police powers to deal with protests.
“We have a duty to intervene when protests turn delinquent and risk causing serious disruption,” said Karen Findlay, who co-ordinated the police operation, according to a police press release. “It depends on how the whole environment is set up. The coronation is a once-in-a-generation event and is a key element of our assessment,” he added.
Source: News Beast
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