Animal Rebellion protesters who threw fake blood on the monument to Queen Victoria in front of Buckingham Palace are guilty of criminal damage

Five activists from the organization Animal Rebellion who threw fake blood at the Queen Victoria Memorial in front of Buckingham Palace were convicted of criminal damage.

Christopher Bennett, 33, Riley Ings, 27, Louis McKechnie, 23, Claire Smith, 26, and Rachel Steele, 48, defaced the white marble statue on August 26, 2021 in protest against the hunt.

As Southwark Crown Court heard, the protesters poured a red liquid over the monument and set off flares.

The prosecution stated that the dye not only turned the water red, but also discolored the masonry of the fountain.

Video footage also showed some demonstrators painting their hands red and then leaving marks on the fountain’s masonry.

Demonstrators of the “Extinction Rebellion” movement stand in the fountain of the Queen Victoria Memorial

Rachel Steele at a protest rally by a group of Animal Rebellion protesters in August 2021

The five activists from Animal Rebellion, an offshoot of Extinction Rebellion, denied the charges but were found guilty by the jury of causing £7,080 worth of damage to the monument.

Judge Gregory Perrins released her on bail ahead of sentencing on October 18.

Prosecutor Ailsa McKeon said: “Within a short space of time, both the water and the masonry were stained.”

“All five defendants were arrested and several red bottles were found.”

“Some points in this case are undisputed. It is assumed that the defendants do not deny their presence. The only issue is whether they actually caused any damage.”

“The defendants are not being prosecuted for expressing these opinions but for causing thousands of pounds worth of damage.”

Statues and Fountains event director Luke Cooper said in a statement read out in court: “During our investigations we found that the substance had penetrated deep into the marble.”

“The entire system had to be completely drained and cleaned.”

Mr Cooper said a “steam system” was needed to remove the red dye.

“The paint had penetrated deep into the marble, so we couldn’t remove it immediately,” he added.

Ings said in his testimony: “The general atmosphere of the climate crisis. The science is pretty clear about what the consequences will be if we continue like this.”

“The reason for this is that the Crown tried to exempt itself from the climate targets for carbon emissions. It tried to abdicate responsibility for these changes.”

Ings said they wanted to leave “bloody handprints” on the fountain.

Police remove protesters from the fountain at the Queen Victoria Memorial, which they painted over with red paint.

The five activists from Animal Rebellion, an offshoot of Extinction Rebellion, denied the charges but were found guilty by the jury of causing £7,080 worth of damage to the monument.

“Part of the protest was to create the visual effect of bloody handprints on the side of the fountain.”

In his testimony, McKechnie also told the court: “I took part in the protest because I believe the royal family has blood on their hands.”

“What was most important to me was the metaphorical meaning. In particular, the fact that in inner London a third of all children live in food poverty, yet the royals are the biggest landowners in the country.”

“Food poverty will get worse. How many will die? How many will starve? How many royals?”

“I understand that the dye is non-toxic and harmless. I could drink it if I wanted to. It was designed to be harmless. If it were to harm a living being, then this group would want nothing to do with it.”

McKechnie said the water in the well was “dirty,” adding: “It looks like it’s not very well maintained most of the time.”

The 23-year-old said after the sentencing today: “Today’s court result was not ideal, but it was to be expected. The justice system in this country is not geared towards actual justice, but towards maintaining the status quo.

“For me it is crazy that three years have passed since the protests and during this time we have experienced heat waves with temperatures of 40 degrees without our government having noticeably done anything.

“We have no choice but to continue until we have a plant-based food system. Anything else would be a betrayal of our generation and those to come.”

Steele said the aim of the protest was “a simple, dramatic sight to attract attention for the reasons we discussed – the fact that the royal family is trying to circumvent carbon emissions targets and to attract media attention.”

Eco-activist Louis McKechnie is arrested as he and other Just Stop Oil 2022 activists block the petrol station at Cobham Services on the M25 in Surrey

Louis McKechnie is carried off the pitch after tying himself to a goal post during a Premier League match in 2022

McKechnie was sentenced to six weeks in prison for the stunt

“How long did you think the water would stay red?” Laura Stockdale asked defensively.

Steele replied, “A week, tops. Bright red for a day. And then it would gradually fade.”

She said she knew the dye was not harmful.

“We are a loving, vegan activist group. If dyes exist, why would this group use something that doesn’t exist?”

She claimed she did not read the label on the dye, which warns against bringing the substance into contact with stone.

“I just wanted to put it in water. I didn’t study its effect on stone.”

McKechnie was sentenced to six weeks in prison for trespassing in September 2022 after handcuffing himself to a goalpost at Everton’s Goodison Park stadium during a Just Stop Oil protest.

He entered the field of play against Newcastle United at the beginning of the second half at the Gwladys Street end.

McKechnie was also sentenced to three weeks in prison in November 2022 for gluing himself to the frame of a £70 million Van Gogh painting at the Courtauld Gallery in London.

A few days after this JSO protest, on June 30, 2022, McKechnie, along with four other eco-fanatics, disrupted the 2022 British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

They denied the accusation that they had caused a public nuisance during the storming of the track and had caused “serious harm” to the drivers and race officials.

McKechnie and the four other activists in the case have now appealed the ruling in the Court of Appeal and are awaiting the verdict.