Extinction Rebellion Founder Jailed for Climate Protest
The Facts
A UK court sentenced Extinction Rebellion founder Roger Hallam on Thursday to five years in prison. The court punished him for his conspiracy to obstruct traffic on the M25 motorway during the Just Stop Oil campaign over four days in November 2022.
The Court also sentenced four other climate activists for their involvement in a conspiracy to cause gridlock and obstruct traffic. The Court characterized their actions as those of a "fanatic" and sentenced Louise Lancaster, Daniel Shaw, Lucia Whittaker De Abreu, and Cressida Gethin to four-year terms.
The Spin
Narrative A
Demonstrations are important in a democracy, but we should never forget that violence and disturbing others are illegal. The negative consequences of the traffic disruption were many and costly. Taking the law into one's own hands is unacceptable, even in the context of climate change. Sentencing these five eco-activists to long prison terms is harsh, but it's the right thing to do.
Narrative B
Sentencing these activists to multi-year prison sentences, is an obscene perversion of justice. This trial was a travesty of justice and an assault on free speech as the judge ruled that climate issues were irrelevant to the case. It's an outrage that the fossil fuel industry's power has corrupted courts. This is a dark day for climate activism and the right to peacefully protest.