Organisers said it had expected at least 400 people to join the rally in Nine Elms, south-west London.
asserted
people → say → Elms
It means officers may have detained at least a quarter of attendees.
uncertain
officers → mean → attendees
Palestine Action was proscribed in June 2025, meaning any public display of support for the group constitutes a crime under the Terrorism Act.
asserted
display → proscribe → Act
Some protesters could be heard applauding and chanting “free, free Palestine” when people were taken away to police vans parked in Ponton Road, just off the embassy grounds, before being transferred to police stations.
uncertain
people → hear → stations
Officers started arresting some protesters one by one shortly after 12.30pm, sometimes carrying them if they refused to walk.
asserted
they → arrest → them
Charles Allison, a retired lawyer who travelled almost 300 miles from his home in Cumbria to attend, said he was demonstrating because he “feared for our liberties”.
asserted
he → travel → liberties
The 75-year-old said: “I decided that I ought to try and do something,and this is the little bit that I’m doing.
asserted
I → say → that
“I fear for our civil liberties, which are being devalued and watered down, even by this new Labour Government.
asserted
which → fear → Government
“So I’m dejected, but enthused that there are so many wonderful people protesting.”
asserted
I → ’m → ?
He added: “I speak as an ex-lawyer, so it’s uncomfortable for me to break the law deliberately.
asserted
me → add → law
But I felt that I could do no other.”
uncertain
I → feel → other
Mr Allison was taken away by two police officers just before 1pm, after he was told he posed a “threat”.
asserted
he → take → threat
A spokesman for Defend Our Juries said arrests on Saturday took the total number of people detained for defying the ban to more than 4,000 since July 2025.
asserted
arrests → say → July
“It is truly dystopian that there have now been over 4,000 arrests under terror laws for peaceful vigils silently expressing opposition to genocide and support for the protest group Palestine Action,” the spokesman said.
asserted
spokesman → express → group
“The ban on Palestine Action was straight out of Trump’s playbook, so it’s fitting that this significant milestone has been reached on Halloween and outside the US embassy, laying bare the terrifying attacks on free speech that this authoritarian ban has unleashed.”
asserted
ban → ’ → that
Met Police said a Section 35 dispersal order was in place in parts of London, covering the embassy grounds, from 8am to 11pm on Saturday.
asserted
order → say → Saturday
The force said the measure, which means people can be ordered to leave the area or face arrest, followed “information that a group is planning to attend an event and express support for a proscribed organisation”.
asserted
group → say → organisation
Lauren Wallace said she had brought her four-year-old daughter Lilah to the demonstration to show support for her own mother.
asserted
she → say → mother
The 36-year-old said: “My mum’s here today to hold a sign, and I’m unbelievably proud of her and respect her so much for doing it.
asserted
I → say → it
“And I think, in her words, she maybe has a freedom to do it that me, with a young daughter and a job, probably don’t have.
asserted
me → think → daughter
“So I came to support her and show solidarity with her, and also to, I guess, show my daughter the power of protest and how important it is to be political.”
asserted
it → come → protest
Defend Our Juries said the US embassy location had been chosen because Washington had “not shied away” from participation in the Palestine conflict.
asserted
Washington → say → conflict
In August, the US government announced sanctions against Palestine Action, designating it as a terror group.
asserted
government → announce → group
Demonstrators held signs reading “we are protesters, not terrorists” and “heroes, not terrorists”, while some wore keffiyehs and waved Palestinian flags.
asserted
some → hold → flags
Scotland Yard said Palestine Action-related protests “take significant police resources away from the neighbourhoods and communities where they are most needed”.
asserted
they → say → neighbourhoods
The Met spent £1.3 million on six “Palestine-Israel public order events” in June and July, according to its response to a freedom of information request.
uncertain
Met → spend → request
In June, five Court of Appeal judges said the ban on Palestine Action as a terror group was a “justified and proportionate” interference on freedom of expression rights.
asserted
ban → say → rights
This overturned the judgment of three judges at the High Court who ruled in February that the then-home secretary Yvette Cooper’s decision to ban Palestine Action was unlawful, after a legal challenge from the group’s co-founder Huda Ammori.
asserted
decision → overturn → founder
The Aporia
