More than 300 arrests at Palestine Action support protest outside US embassy

Over 300 individuals were taken into custody during a demonstration in support of the banned organisation Palestine Action outside the United States embassy, according to police reports. The protest took place on Saturday at Nine Elms in London, where numerous participants held placards displaying messages like “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action.”

The Metropolitan Police revealed on Sunday that the total arrests from the event reached 325. Of these, 320 were specifically detained on charges linked to “expressing support for a proscribed organisation under the Terrorism Act,” as stated by the force on social media. Since Palestine Action was officially banned in July 2025, the number of arrests related to the group has surpassed 4,000.

The ban on Palestine Action is currently under legal review. The UK Supreme Court is set to examine the proscription after the group’s co-founder received permission to challenge it. Meanwhile, the Home Office has pledged to strongly defend the ban against the appeal. During the protest, police continued making arrests well into the evening, carrying some demonstrators who resisted leaving and transporting them in police vehicles. Supporters applauded the police actions while chanting slogans such as “Free, free Palestine.”

Among those arrested was Charles Allison, a retired lawyer who traveled from Cumbria to take part in the demonstration. He expressed concerns about the erosion of civil liberties, stating, “I hope the Supreme Court justices—they won’t necessarily be influenced by it [the protest]—but I hope that they will take a long-term view of what is happening in this country and decide that the proscription was unlawful, as I believe it was.” Another protester, David Bolden, described the ban as an “absurd law.” The group Defend Our Juries, which has been organising protests since the ban, labelled the number of arrests as “truly dystopian” and criticised the government’s approach. Amnesty International UK also condemned the arrests and urged the government to revoke the proscription. Defend Our Juries characterised the police actions as “unjust” and an attack on free speech