Will Hanson of the Garden Court Protest Team successfully represented the defendant, instructed by Zachary Whyte and Ruby Breward of Sperrin Law.
A protestor was unanimously found not guilty by a jury at Southwark Crown Court in a trial arising from the Black Lives Matter demonstrations in London in June 2020.
The defendant attended two Black Lives Matter demonstrations following the murder of George Floyd, in support of its campaign for police accountability. On each day, he was subjected to force by police officers, and responded with force in order to defend himself.
At trial, he faced two counts of violent disorder and two counts of assaulting a police officer. He asserted that he acted in self-defence, and otherwise played no part in any violent disorder. The jury unanimously acquitted unanimously him of each count.
