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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/apr/21/just-stop-oil-protesters-jailed-for-dartford-crossing-protest
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| Just Stop Oil protesters jailed for Dartford Crossing protest | Just Stop Oil protesters jailed for Dartford Crossing protest |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Morgan Trowland and Marcus Decker scaled bridge over River Thames, forcing police to stop traffic | Morgan Trowland and Marcus Decker scaled bridge over River Thames, forcing police to stop traffic |
| Just Stop Oil protesters Morgan Trowland and Marcus Decker, who scaled a bridge on the Dartford Crossing forcing police to close it to traffic, have been sentenced to three years in prison, and two years and seven months in prison respectively for causing a public nuisance. | Just Stop Oil protesters Morgan Trowland and Marcus Decker, who scaled a bridge on the Dartford Crossing forcing police to close it to traffic, have been sentenced to three years in prison, and two years and seven months in prison respectively for causing a public nuisance. |
| In sentencing remarks at Southend crown court, the judge stressed he wanted others to be deterred from copying the men. | In sentencing remarks at Southend crown court, the judge stressed he wanted others to be deterred from copying the men. |
| Trowland, 40, and Decker, 34, used ropes and other climbing equipment to scale the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, which links the M25 between Essex and Kent. | Trowland, 40, and Decker, 34, used ropes and other climbing equipment to scale the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, which links the M25 between Essex and Kent. |
| The prosecutor Adam King said the bridge was closed from 4am on 17 October last year until 9pm the following day, with traffic jams caused by drivers using tunnels instead. | The prosecutor Adam King said the bridge was closed from 4am on 17 October last year until 9pm the following day, with traffic jams caused by drivers using tunnels instead. |
| Both defendants were unanimously found guilty of causing a public nuisance. Judge Collery KC sentenced Trowland to three years in prison, while Decker was jailed for two years and seven months. | Both defendants were unanimously found guilty of causing a public nuisance. Judge Collery KC sentenced Trowland to three years in prison, while Decker was jailed for two years and seven months. |
| “You have to be punished for the chaos you caused and to deter others from copying you,” Collery told the men. | “You have to be punished for the chaos you caused and to deter others from copying you,” Collery told the men. |
| He said Trowland, who has six previous convictions relating to protests, played a “leading role”, while Decker had one previous conviction relating to a protest. | He said Trowland, who has six previous convictions relating to protests, played a “leading role”, while Decker had one previous conviction relating to a protest. |
| “[You] plainly believed you knew better than everyone else”, the judge said. “In short, to hell with everyone else. | “[You] plainly believed you knew better than everyone else”, the judge said. “In short, to hell with everyone else. |
| “By your actions you caused this very important road to be closed for 40 hours,” he said, noting that the disruption affected “many tens of thousands, some very significantly”. | “By your actions you caused this very important road to be closed for 40 hours,” he said, noting that the disruption affected “many tens of thousands, some very significantly”. |
| The pair had been in custody since they were remanded at their first appearance at a magistrates court on 20 October. | The pair had been in custody since they were remanded at their first appearance at a magistrates court on 20 October. |
| King said the protesters climbed to a point almost 60 metres (200ft) above the road, unfurled a giant Just Stop Oil banner, “rigged up hammocks and stayed there”. | |
| “This closure caused gridlock for miles around throughout that period, which we say was the point.” | |
| He said the men came down at about 5.30pm on 18 October “with the help of police and a very tall cherry-picker crane”, but the bridge was not reopened to traffic until later. | |
| Trowland, of Islington, north London, and Decker, 34, of no fixed address, had denied causing a public nuisance, arguing that it was a protest. | |
| Essex police said a heavily pregnant woman who needed urgent medical help was among the people affected by the traffic disruption. Another person missed the funeral of their best friend of 35 years, and a business lost more than £160,000 in earnings, the force said. | |
| Jacob Bindman, for Trowland, said: “He’s able to say this protest, and his experience of having spent time in prison, largely represents the end of his involvement in this kind of activity. He doesn’t intend to undertake any large-scale disruptive protests in the future.” | |
| He said the structural engineer had “in his words, done his bit” and “he doesn’t want to spend the rest of his days going in and out of prison”. | |
| Rebecca Martin, for Decker, said the protest was not the climbing expert’s idea and he was not part of the initial planning process. | |
| She said Decker, a German citizen with two degrees who works as a private tutor, and his co-defendant were “trying to act for the greater good in the long term”. | |
| Decker would also not take part in further disruptive protests, she said. | |
| But the judge said he saw “no signs” the defendants were “any less committed to the causes you espouse than before”. |