Tom Wainwright, of the Garden Court Chambers Protest Team, was instructed by Alexandra Riddington of Traymans Solicitors.
OM was charged with Violent Disorder for events arising out of the Black Lives Matter demonstration on 6th June 2020. During a peaceful protest, the Metropolitan Police kettled large numbers of people and deployed horse charges and officers in riot gear against those present. A number of the protestors then found themselves arrested and charged with serious criminal offences.
OM maintained that, faced with aggression and force from the police, he had acted in self-defence and in defence of others throughout. A number of requests for disclosure were made and doggedly pursued by the defence, relating to the Metropolitan Police’s approach to the demonstration and the behaviour of the officers present. After pursuing the requests for seven months, and only a few weeks before the matter was due to be listed for trial, the Crown Prosecution Service today offered no evidence and a formal Not Guilty verdict was entered.
