At least 17 arrested and 2 cautioned on protests in Newcastle against the Police, Crimes, Sentencing and Courts Bill with 12 arrested in just one day!
A key battle to defend the right to protest is playing out in Newcastle: a city which shows signs of being one of the main epicentres of the national Kill the Bill struggle. On a protest called by Resist Newcastle on Saturday 1 May, International Workers Day, nine people, including a Fight Racism! Fight Imperialism! (FRFI) supporter, were arrested and one cautioned, for daring to speak out against a bill which has been dubbed the most vicious assault on democratic rights in generations. A further three people were arrested on an Extinction Rebellion (XR) demonstration earlier that day. Those arrested were held in cells for hours. The last person was released just after 3am the next morning: she had spent 14 hours in a cell, and had only been given two energy bars for the duration and denied any form of support. This was a clear attempt to break their spirit and scare them away from future protests. In contrast to this, Resist Newcastle and FRFI organised support for those arrested and provided food and transport for those who needed it on their release.
At least three people were arrested for alleged criminal damage, a.k.a. writing with chalk on Grey’s Monument! Others were arrested for alleged assault when video evidence actually proves no assault or violence from protestors, but rather police violently dragging people to the ground in headlocks and piling on top of them. FRFI supporters made sure the march headed to Forth Banks Police Station in the city centre to demand the people being held there were released, however the march was met by a line of police near the Centre for Life to stop them getting anywhere near. There is an underpass you have to go under to get to the police station. This was rammed with police defending their outpost. As always, the police sought to hold themselves above accountability. XR supporters joined the demonstration and provided the drummers that made sure those arrested could hear the demonstration for their release outside the station despite the police’s best efforts to keep us out of earshot.
Hundreds of people on the protest marched around the busy city centre for hours, speaking on Resist Newcastle’s open mic and, making a stand, refused to be scared off the streets by police thugs. The atmosphere was electric with nothing but support from people passing by. Earlier in the day FRFI and others, who have been working together in open, democratic planning meetings, held a protest outside Barclays Bank against the Overseas Operations Bill which this week became law. Barclays is the biggest global investor in the arms trade. The new law will make it nearly impossible to prosecute British military personnel who commit war crimes. FRFI also spoke out against the Sovereign Borders Bill which makes ‘legal’ entry to Britain for people seeking asylum practically impossible; and the Spycops Bill which gives cops impunity with a license to kill whilst undercover.
True to form, Northumbria Police relished the opportunity to tool up and swarm the streets of Newcastle in huge numbers. Hundreds of police on foot, horseback, in riot vans, part of surveillance teams and in a helicopter dogged and besieged the protest. We saw the role they played to oppose the Black Lives Matter movement last summer when they tried to suffocate it by effectively banning anti-racist protests in the entire city. They are attempting the same now with the Kill the Bill protests by criminalising the smallest acts of defiance and serving notice to people who want to fight the bill. After the 1 May protest Northumbria Police were quoted in local press describing this defiance as “unlawful criminal behaviour” and “completely unacceptable.” A recurring issue is the targetting of ‘organisers’ of marches the police have not been notified of. The police want to keep protests static and tightly controlled in locations of their choosing. Protestors in Newcastle are challenging this in action.
This utterly disproportionate response of the police is taking place before the bill has even become law. The writing is on the wall: the government with the help of the police are attempting to shut down the space we have for effective forms of protest. What we have seen in Newcastle over the last few weeks is protestors being dogged, harassed, intimidated and targetted by Northumbria Police. Importantly, what we have also seen is that this is not having the desired effect. People are not being scared off but instead are being galvanised and educated in the true nature of the British state. In acts of defiance, they continue to take to the streets in significant numbers.
What is needed now is a very public, very organised, very political and very on the streets defence campaign that compliments the efforts of solicitors to defend all of those arrested and cautioned. FRFI are reaching out to groups and individuals in Newcastle to get together to discuss how we do this. Northumbria Police are targeting us individually to try and break up this movement, which they see as a threat to them. Building a defence campaign where we work collectively is the only way to challenge this. We must show Northumbria Police that if they target any one of us they will face the resistance of all of us. Get in touch to get involved.
Defend the right to protest! Drop all charges! Violent police, off our streets!
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