Coming soon to USA?: "Armed police threatened to arrest Kent protester for holding Palestinian flag"

[SorellaLaBefana]

Armed police threatened a peaceful protester with arrest under the Terrorism Act for holding a Palestinian flag and having signs saying “Free Gaza” and “Israel is committing genocide”, accusing her of supporting a proscribed organisation.

Officers told Laura Murton, 42, that her demonstration in Canterbury, Kent, on Monday evening expressed views supportive of Palestine Action, which was banned under terrorism legislation earlier this month...

He went on to say that the phrase “Free Gaza” was “supportive of Palestine Action”, adding it was an offence “to express an opinion or belief that is supportive of a proscribed organisation, namely Palestine Action is an offence under section 12(1A) of the Terrorism Act”. The officer told her she had committed that offence...

Tom Southerden, Amnesty International UK’s law and human rights director, described the footage as “very concerning”. He added: “We have long criticised UK terrorism law for being excessively broad and vaguely worded and a threat to freedom of expression. This video documents one aspect of exactly the kind of thing we were warning about.”

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jul/17/armed-police-threatened-to-arrest-kent-protester-for-holding-palestinian-flag

Think about this. Yes. Apparently mentioning anything which might possibly be construed as aligning with a "proscribed terrorist organisation"—is enough to charge a person with terrorism.

To say, for example, that children in Gaza are dying because of the actions of I-dare-not-speak-the-name so will only say "another Middle Eastern" nation can land you in prison.

Golly, that's not scary at all.

[muriel_volestrangler]

1. It's the quote from "a Kent police spokesperson" at the end that worries me the most

The official response to this is "yeah, we'll do this again". Not a spur of the moment crappy choice by a subpar PC, but the considered opinion of the police force.

Fascists.

I wish the Guardian has asked for the spokesperson's name, and then said "who refused to give their name". The people claiming that "displaying items that arouse a reasonable suspicion" of supporting a non-violent group that has the same aims as the majority of the country is a "criminal offence" should be named and shamed. And sacked, of course, but that's too much to hope for.