When the Metropolitan police began to approach Claudia Penna Rojas, 27, in Parliament Square on 9th August, it wasn’t fear that she felt. As officers made their way across the Palestine Action protest on a hot August day, where eventually 532 people would be arrested, Claudia was overcome not by a sense of worry but by inspiration.
“I think just seeing that many people show up to resist was really inspiring,” says Claudia. “Obviously, there is a level of intimidation. It’s never nice [to be arrested], but my overall feeling from that day was like a feeling of empowerment from seeing people come together.”
On 6 August, hundreds of people turned out to protest the proscription of the direct action group Palestine Action. The decision to proscribe the group, announced by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper after members spray-painted red paint on an RAF plane, which it was believed was used for military operations in Gaza, classifies it as a terrorist group, placing it in the same legal category as al-Qaeda or Boko Haram. Those seen supporting the group could be charged under the Terrorism Act, punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
Which makes Claudia's act no small feat, when you consider the risk: “I think when our governments are failing so highly, we have a duty and the responsibility to hold them accountable.”
Over the last few years, the crackdown on protest rights has escalated. Under the Conservative government, the Police, Crime and Sentencing and Courts Bill, followed by the Public Order Bill, has given police more powers to arrest protesters and increase penalties for those they arrest. That legislation came, in part, in response to direct action and protests from groups like Extinction Rebellion and Just Stop Oil.
In 2024, shortly after Labour was elected, courts issued the longest ever sentences for non-violent protest action to five people who had closed the M25 and publicised the action for Just Stop Oil. The Palestine Action protest earlier this month, which saw the highest number of arrests at one time, shows that under Labour, the pressure on protest action is not letting up.
The Home Secretary has defended the ban, saying: "There may be people who are objecting to proscription who don't know the full nature of this organisation, because of court restrictions on reporting while serious prosecutions are underway.
"But it's really important that no one is in any doubt that this is not a non-violent organisation."
Cooper added there had been "clear security assessments and advice" ahead of the ban.
The first two times Morwenna White-Thomson, 65, was arrested, it was during climate action. The first was for Just Stop Oil in 2022, where the former NHS worker protested the Rosebank Oil Field; the second was a slow march the following year for Extinction Rebellion. That arrest led to a night in a prison cell.
“There was no need to be arrested,” says Morwenna. “They could have facilitated our march up to Downing Street. It was a total waste of resources.”
Morwenna was also arrested at the Palestine Action protest for peacefully holding a sign. Despite her previous arrest resulting in a court hearing (where she was found not guilty), the moral obligation to speak up felt too strong.
“I obviously could stay in,” she says. “I grow cut flowers, and I have a rescue dog. I could just stay and do those things. But it just doesn't feel right.”
It was a moving experience: “I was just thinking about the mothers who’ve lost their children, or the children who have seen their fathers blown up, or all the people who are just starving. I wasn't frightened. I thought I could be arrested. But really, what was most important to me was that the action was dignified and peaceful.”
Last week, Keir Starmer announced that 16- and 17-year-olds would be eligible to vote in the next general election.
So why are police arresting peaceful protesters? And where does this leave our faith in the police? Morwenna, who was eventually taken to be processed in Plumstead, east London, describes her interaction with police as respectful, and none of the women I spoke with raised an issue with the way they were treated. Most felt that the police were not fully supportive of having to arrest people under these circumstances.
“It’s all just coming from government orders, right?” says Penna Rojas. “So the government has put out this legislation, this horrendous, unjust, stupid law, and people are challenging it, and I think it's backed them into a corner.”
“There were some police who were saying they agreed with us,” she adds. “There were some police who said that they didn't know about the legislation, they didn’t know about Palestine Action, and they were like, ‘We don't want to know, because it makes our job easier not knowing’.”
I put this to the Met police and asked what purpose they saw in arresting peaceful protesters. It declined to comment on specific claims or arrests. It directed us to previous statements it had made, which a spokesperson said: “makes clear why arrests were made, which ranged from showing support for a proscribed organisation, as well as assaulting officers and breaching conditions.”
Lilah McKim, 24, also noticed a reticence from police when she was arrested earlier this month at the Palestine Action protest. “The female officer who arrested me was nervous,” says McKim. “She was picking her nails. I could tell she felt quite uncomfortable arresting me.”
The experience for McKim was “intense” and “overwhelming,” but she feels “at peace,” in the knowledge that she is doing everything to be on the right side of history.”
“We've just all been witnesses to the genocide in Palestine through our phones,” she says. “Me being arrested feels like a very small price to pay, to stand up for the rights of indigenous Palestinians.”
“Successive governments have tried their hardest to turn the public against disabled people, but we refuse to be voiceless.”
Many have raised concerns around the decision for police to mass arrest people at the Palestine Action protest, some arguing that it was a monumental waste of resources when our courts are facing huge backlogs, and that it paves the way for further crackdown on our ability to protest.
Claudia says she’s seen a concerning change: “I think it’s interesting if we compare where we are now to where we were in 2019 or 2020, where if you went to any kind of protest that was in some way more disruptive, it wasn’t a guaranteed arrest, and even if you were arrested, there was no guarantee of a charge.”
“What we’re seeing today is anyone who’s engaging in protests like this should be absolutely prepared for arrest,” she continues. “Anytime you’re arrested, you should be prepared to be charged, because they are following through like that now, and the consequences are more severe than they used to be.”
It’s worrying that the fundamental democratic act of protest – particularly when peaceful – now comes with such high personal risk. It’s no wonder so many people turned up to Parliament Square when this legislation is being enforced by a government that considers Israel a political ally, despite its military campaign killing over 60,000 people since October 7 (as per the BBC), and the UN calling its starvation of Palestinians in Gaza “a serious violation of international law and a crime against humanity.”
Despite the risks of arrest, will these women be protesting again? “I’m an activist,” says McKim, “so this is what I’m gonna spend my whole life doing. If I feel like I do need to get arrested for it, then I will. People need to stand up for justice. As Angela Davis says: Freedom is a constant struggle.”
