At least five climate change activists have been convicted of smashing a glass revolving door at JP Morgan’s European headquarters.
A judge said that the activists’ beliefs did not “afford them a defence”.
Stephanie Aylett, 29, Pamela Bellinger, 66, Amy Pritchard, 38, Adelheid Russenberger, 32 and Rosemary Webster, 66, used hammers and chisels to cause “many thousands of pounds” of damage during the Extinction Rebellion protest.
According to reports, they smashed a custom-built revolving door and a large glazed panel at the entrance to the US bank’s Victoria Embankment offices in the City of London on 1 September 2021. Pritchard told Inner London crown court the policies of JP Morgan had led to the deaths of “hundreds of thousands of children”.
But Silas Reid, the judge asked the jury to “put aside sympathy or prejudice” when the trial began.
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He said: “You may have views about those actions or organisations, you may have views about climate change. This is not a trial about climate change. It is a trial about criminal damage. It is nothing more than that and nothing less.”
The five women were convicted of causing criminal damage after a two-week trial. Reid adjourned sentencing until 7 June.
Reid told the jury: “The reasons behind their protests don’t afford them a defence in this case. None of these defendants did these things for the fun of it, or because they are criminal people.
“They did it because they honestly believed it was something they needed to do. Well, they are not allowed to do it. It is a crime.”
During legal arguments Reid had ruled Aylett and her co-defendants could talk about their beliefs in relation to climate change in front of the jury.
He said: “Ms Aylett is entitled to tell the jury about her beliefs. She is entitled to say what her beliefs about climate change are.
“I would be shocked, having previously dealt with Ms Aylett, if the jury came to any conclusion other than that she holds her beliefs about climate change with anything other than the utmost honesty.
Story was adapted from the Guardian.
