Two Just Stop Oil protesters who scaled a bridge over the Dartford Crossing and caused 40 hours of gridlock have been jailed for over two years in a record sentence for the climate group. The Mail has more.
Morgan Trowland, 40, and Marcus Decker, 36, blocked one of the busiest stretches of road in the country during their climate protest on October 17th last year.
The pair hoisted a banner between two pillars of the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, which links the M25 in Essex and Kent, and slept in hammocks in freezing temperatures overnight.
The road beneath was closed by police for fears over their safety, causing traffic chaos – they were eventually arrested after coming down the following day.
Today at Southend Crown Court Trowland and Decker were jailed for three years, and two years and seven months, respectively after being found guilty of causing a public nuisance.
Passing sentence today, judge Shane Collery KC said locking the pair up would hopefully deter anyone else from taking part in similar demonstrations.
“You have to be punished for the chaos you caused and to deter others from copying you,” he said.
The judge said that Trowland, who has six previous convictions relating to protests, had a “leading role”, while Decker had one previous conviction relating to a protest.
The judge said that the pair “plainly believed you knew better than everyone else”, adding: “In short, to hell with everyone else.”
“By your actions you caused this very important road to be closed for 40 hours,” the judge said, noting that the disruption affected “many tens of thousands, some very significantly”.
Good to see a proper penalty being meted out for a change.
Worth reading in full.
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