A group of militant pro-Palestine protestors ‘rallied’ outside a London police station this afternoon in protest over the barefoot Big Ben scaler who was arrested.
In encrypted messages seen exclusively by Mail Online, the demonstration was orchestrated by the campaign group Youth Demand in support of the protester who climbed and sat on the 96-meter-high landmark for more than 16 hours.
The barefoot man, known as Dan, sparked a major emergency response when he climbed part of the 96-meter-high structure while waving a Palestine flag.
Youth Demand, have scurried to the police station to protest his arrest.
The Metropolitan Police’s Westminster team said the man was arrested after he was brought to the ground.
The protesters chanted: ‘let him go’ in reference to Dan.
A young woman wrapped in a Palestine flag told Mail Online: ‘I’m here because of Dan being arrested to protest the ongoing genocide and human rights violations taking place in Gaza.’Â
The protestors wrapped in Palestine flags and kefirs called for the Metropolitan Police to ‘choose a side’.
They banged drums and shakes tambourines as they repetitively chanted.
At one point, some protestors got in a brawl with a group of men who called the demonstrators ‘terrorists.’
The two groups squared up to each other spitting and shouting but eventually dispersed.
Another man furious with the protest was seen getting aggressive with the police and was arrested.
He was seen seriously resisting arrest, while multiple officers had to get involved, and even use pepper spray to tame the angry civilian.Â
There are around 20 police officers at the scene with two stood outside the station and a few officers were dispersed in the area.
They were heard blaring the chant: ‘Free free Palestine. From the river to the sea Palestine will be free
‘Five six seven eight Israel is a terrorist state.’
They added:Â ‘All the crimes in your name Met Police shame, shame.’Â
Footage from the Big Ben scaler showed rescuers using a cherry-picker to reach the individual, who had been perched on the stone ledge of the tower.
As he was lowered, the protester waved a Palestinian flag to cheers from the crowd gathered below.
At around 7.24am this morning, he live-streamed his act of defiance, removing his shoes and smearing his bloodied feet across the tower’s stone.
In the video posted to Instagram, the protester defiantly declared, ‘I’m not going anywhere,’ while chanting ‘Free, free Palestine.’
The dramatic scene prompted the closure of Westminster Bridge, a key London route, as firefighters from four stations, along with police and ambulance services, rushed to the scene throughout the day.
As negotiations unfolded, the protester told officials he would only come down on his own terms.
Hundreds of pro-Palestinian supporters gathered nearby, waving Palestinian flags and chanting messages of support, including loud shouts of ‘We love you!’ directed at the man perched on the landmark.Â
It comes after Mail Online revealed in an undercover probe that Youth Demand is planning to target the British Museum and other London landmarks as part of a major new plot to ‘shut down’ the city for an entire month.
The pro-Palestine and eco-activist group have said that ‘hundreds and hundreds’ of people will descend on England’s capital and ‘block’ roads and junctions every single day for the entirety of April.
They hope to overwhelm the justice system by clogging the courts and costing the police ‘millions of pounds’ in shifts.
Youth Demand is planning to target the British Museum and other London landmarks as part of a major new plot to ‘shut down’ the city for an entire month.
The militant pro-Palestine and eco-activist group have said that ‘hundreds and hundreds’ of people will descend on England’s capital and ‘block’ roads and junctions every single day for the entirety of April.
They hope to overwhelm the justice system by clogging the courts and costing the police ‘millions of pounds’ in shifts.
