The co-founder of radical environmental groups Just Stop Oil and Extinction Rebellion has been given a long prison sentence along with four other environmental activists over motorway chaos in England.
Roger Hallam, one of Britain’s most radical environmental activists, was convicted of conspiring to disrupt traffic in 2022 over the Just Stop Oil blockade of the M25 motorway for four days.
Hallam, co-founder of Extinction Rebellion and Just Stop Oil, was given a record five-year prison sentence on Thursday after a judge found he had “crossed the line from concerned activist to fanatic”. Telegraph Reports.
Four other Green Warriors, Cressida Gethin, 22, Daniel Shaw, 38, Louise Lancaster, 58, and Lucia Whittaker de Abreu, 35, were each sentenced to four years in prison.
Prosecutors told the court that the series of motorway disruptions had cost the Metropolitan police more than £1.1 million, with financial losses amounting to at least £765,000, Sky News reported. Reports.
The court heard that disruption by Just Stop Oil activists affected more than 700,000 vehicles, caused more than 50,000 hours of traffic congestion and put the M25 motorway “at risk” for more than 120 hours.
‘Stop the oil’ climate extremists block UK motorways for fourth day in a rowhttps://t.co/qCwpAqf6BA
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) November 10, 2022
Sentencing them, Judge Christopher Hehir said: “The plain fact is that each of you crossed the line some time ago from concerned activist to fanatic.
“You have appointed yourselves the sole arbiters of what should be done about climate change.”
The judge said specifically about Hallam: “You are the theorist, you are the one with the ‘ideas’. In my judgment you are at the highest level of conspiracy.”
Two groups he co-founded, Just Stop Oil and Extinction Rebellion, have been at the forefront of using unconventional tactics to protest the so-called climate crisis in the UK and Europe, such as plastering themselves on the roads and pouring soup on priceless works of art.
Supporters of the left-wing government have already called on the government to overturn the sentence, one of the longest for non-violent protesters in recent history.
Farage warns climate freaks destroy think tank, ‘eco-terrorism’ nexthttps://t.co/6MN094vm8k
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) October 25, 2022
