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Just Stop Oil protesters jailed for Dartford Crossing protest Just Stop Oil protesters jailed for Dartford Crossing protest
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Morgan Trowland and Marcus Decker scaled bridge over River Thames, forcing police to stop trafficMorgan 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. Two Just Stop Oil protesters who scaled a bridge on the Dartford Crossing, forcing police to close it to traffic, have been sentenced to more than two and a half years each 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. Morgan Trowland, 40, and Marcus Decker, 34, used ropes and other climbing equipment to scale the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, which links the M25 in Essex and Kent, in October last year. The police closed the bridge to traffic, causing gridlock.
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 was sentenced to three years in prison, while Decker received two years and seven months. Spokespeople from the activist group said these are the longest sentences for peaceful climate action in UK history.
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. Judge Shane Collery KC handed down the sentence, commenting that it was a strict punishment because he wanted to deter copycats. Both defendants were unanimously found guilty of causing a public nuisance.
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. Collery said: “You have to be punished for the chaos you caused and to deter others from copying you.” 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.
“You have to be punished for the chaos you caused and to deter others from copying you,” Collery told the men. He added that the pair “plainly believed you knew better than everyone else”, adding: “In short, to hell with everyone else.”
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. “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”.
“[You] plainly believed you knew better than everyone else”, the judge said. “In short, to hell with everyone else. Lawyers for the two activists told the court that the pair did not plan to take part in any future similar climate actions, but the judge said he saw “no signs” the defendants were “any less committed to the causes you espouse than before”.
“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”. Prosecutor Adam King said the bridge was closed from 4am on 17 October last year to 9pm the following day, with jams as traffic was forced to use the tunnels instead.
The pair had been in custody since they were remanded at their first appearance at a magistrates court on 20 October. Other climate activists also criticised the sentence. An Extinction Rebellion spokesperson told the Guardian: “This is absolutely devastating news. These men took incredibly courageous action to raise the alarm on the greatest crisis of our time and they should be celebrated for their bravery, not thrown in prison and brushed under the carpet.
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”. “The majority of the UK public wants what they’re asking for, urgent and far reaching action on the climate and ecological emergency, and this news today is a slap in the face to everyone in the UK and globally who are being impacted by climate change right now.”
“This closure caused gridlock for miles around throughout that period, which we say was the point.” Speaking outside the courtroom Stephanie Golder, a Just Stop Oil spokesperson, said: “Just Stop Oil will not be deterred by these draconian sentences. Where they imprison one of us, 10 more will take their place. When they imprison 10 of us, 100 will stand to take their place.”
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. The activists plan more actions from Monday next week, and will be taking part in “slow marches” to disrupt traffic around London.
Trowland, of Islington, north London, and Decker, 34, of no fixed address, had denied causing a public nuisance, arguing that it was a protest. Since the Just Stop Oil campaign began on 1 April 2022, there have been more than 2,000 arrests and 138 people have spent time in prison. There are currently two Just Stop Oil and five Insulate Britain supporters in prison, serving sentences for actions taken with the campaigns.
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”.