Around 10:15 today 14 supporters of Animal Rising were arrested whilst attending an all-day nonviolence training after the group had made it clear to various media outlets, including The Times in the past week, that they have no plans to disrupt the coronation.
The nonviolence training had been publicly advertised, in Hackney, several miles away from the coronation, and was scheduled to last until the evening.
This comes after supporters of both Republic and Just Stop Oil had been arrested in central London whilst wearing t-shirts and holding placards.
Animal Rising says that this is the clearest possible display of the UK’s slide into authoritarianism and quashing free speech.
Joining dozens who were arrested whilst peacefully demonstrating around the coronation route, several supporters of Animal Rising have been arrested at a completely unconnected nonviolence training at the group’s offices. The group has held multiple similar trainings this year, with none experiencing this kind of response.
Nathan McGovern, a spokesperson for Animal Rising said:
“This is nothing short of a totalitarian crackdown on free speech and all forms of dissent. Just Stop Oil, Republic, and Animal Rising have experienced the true character of this Government’s attitude towards peaceful protest today. We are sleepwalking into fascism and it is every single person’s responsibility to stand up and say ‘no more’
Arresting individuals for attending a session specifically designed to inform and educate on nonviolent protest is, quite frankly, ludicrous. The use of facial recognition software and preemptive arrests on trumped-up charges should worry each and every one of us who values democracy.”
This comes at the end of a week when the new Public Order Act became law, further limiting the democratic right to protest in the UK; and when the Conservative party was crushed in local elections. Animal Rising claims that we’re seeing the desperate reaction of a Government clamouring to stay in control of a nation that has become tired of politics that places the 1% above everyone else.
Animal Rising is a social movement to create a new relationship with all beings and give us a chance for a safe ecological future. The group primarily calls for the transition to a secure and sustainable plant-based food system, alongside a mass rewilding programme.
ENDS
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