Metropolitan Police Arrest Over 300 at Palestine Action Protest Near US Embassy
The Metropolitan Police arrested more than 300 people at a demonstration outside the US Embassy in support of the banned group Palestine Action, as expressing support for the organisation is an offence under the Terrorism Act.
The Metropolitan Police in London arrested more than 300 people during a protest outside the US Embassy in the Nine Elms area, whose participants expressed support for the banned group Palestine Action. Before the demonstration, law enforcement officers warned that participants could be arrested, and the operation itself was described as a «heavy-handed police operation».
The basis for the arrests was the organisation's legal status. Palestine Action was added to the list of proscribed organisations in June 2025, after which expressing support for the group became a criminal offence under the Terrorism Act. On this basis, police arrested those who showed solidarity with the organisation on the streets of the British capital, and this is why mass arrests outside the American embassy were possible in one place and on one day.
The protest was timed to coincide with the ban on the group's activities remaining in force, and the authorities regarded public displays of support as a direct violation of current legislation. The police stressed that the arrests were related not to the peaceful expression of political views as such, but to public support for an organisation recognised as proscribed. Participants had been told in advance that they could be arrested for such actions, and the warning was public rather than addressed only to individual persons.
The ban itself has provoked wide debate in the United Kingdom. Supporters of Palestine Action and public activists speak of the right to protest and freedom of expression, while officials rely on the provisions of counter-terrorism legislation, which permits prosecution for public support of structures recognised as proscribed. This contradiction between the right to protest and counter-terrorism norms became the main subject of disputes surrounding the action outside the embassy.
The arrests outside the US Embassy have become one of the largest episodes linked to the application of the ban to public expressions of support for the group. The number of those arrested, exceeding 300 people, makes this action notable even against the background of previous demonstrations, and further developments in the case will depend on decisions by the police and courts regarding individual detainees.
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