Two protestors were guilty of making a public nuisance after scaling the Dartford Crossing bridge.
Morgan Trowland, 40, of Islington, London, and Marcus Decker, 34, of no fixed address, both members of Just Stop Oil, insisted that the demonstration was nonviolent.
They allegedly scaled the bridge’s wires to a height of 200 feet (60 metres) in October of last year, according to the trial at Basildon Crown Court.
On April 13, they are scheduled to receive sentences at the same court.
From 4:00 BST on October 17 until 21:00 BST on October 18, the bridge that crosses the M25 over the River Thames between Essex and Kent was blocked.
Jurors were told during the trial that after scaling the bridge wires, the defendants spread out a Just Stop Oil ban and set up hammocks.
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Prosecutor Adam King told the trial the pair had deliberately tried to cause disruption.
He said their actions “caused gridlock for miles around throughout that period, which we say was the point.”
Mr King told jurors: “We’re not here to litigate the government’s climate change policy.”
Trowland had said in evidence: “We climbed it [the bridge] to deliver a warning message, to put up a banner saying Just Stop Oil and to speak that message through interviews with journalists.”
He said the activist group’s goal was to get the government to stop licensing oil and gas production.
Judge Shane Collery KC remanded them in custody ahead of sentencing and said custodial sentences were being considered.
He said: “We’re dealing with a significant nuisance that’s been caused.”
The pair have spent more than five months in custody, having been remanded at their first appearance at Southend Magistrates’ Court on 20 October, and face a maximum of 10 years in prison.
Sean Irish, of Just Stop Oil, said outside court: “Just Stop Oil will not stop because of a crackdown.
Story adapted from BBC
