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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/sep/14/city-airport-protesters-plead-guilty-trespassing-black-lives-matter
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| Black Lives Matter activists plead guilty to trespass after City airport protest | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Nine Black Lives Matter activists have pleaded guilty to trespass charges following a protest at London City airport that disrupted the journeys of 9,000 passengers. | |
| The group has faced accusations of cultural appropriation after it emerged they were all white and many had links to environmental groups. | |
| All nine pleaded guilty at Westminster magistrates court to trespassing airside. The prosecution dropped two other charges. | All nine pleaded guilty at Westminster magistrates court to trespassing airside. The prosecution dropped two other charges. |
| William Pettifer, 27, of Radford; Esme Waldron, 23, from Brighton; Natalie Fiennes, 25, of Wandsworth, south London; Deborah Grayson, 31, from Slough; Richard Collet-White, 23, of Kempston and Ben Tippet, 24, from Wandsworth, sat side by side in the dock. | William Pettifer, 27, of Radford; Esme Waldron, 23, from Brighton; Natalie Fiennes, 25, of Wandsworth, south London; Deborah Grayson, 31, from Slough; Richard Collet-White, 23, of Kempston and Ben Tippet, 24, from Wandsworth, sat side by side in the dock. |
| Same Baka, 27, Alex Etchart, 26, and Sam Lund-Harket, 32, who all live on a houseboat currently moored in Roydon, Essex, appeared with them. | |
| The court heard that the group had breached the perimeter of London City airport at 5.30am on 6 September by crossing the Thames in inflatable rafts from nearby Albert Island. | |
| The nine activists then put up a tripod made of three lengths of bamboo, the court heard. | |
| Pettifer secured himself to the top of the tripod and the remaining eight then secured themselves to the tripod and each other on the ground, using arm locks and a foam that expands and hardens to hold them in place. | |
| Police arrived to hear the group chanting “black lives matter” and slogans about climate change. | |
| About 131 flights were cancelled or delayed, the court heard, affecting 9,000 passengers. |