News: April Rebellion

An Impossible Ending, As Nightingales Return to Berkeley Square

April 21, 2020 by Extinction Rebellion

In a poetic end to a life-changing two weeks, Sam Lee, of Nest Collective, summoned the nightingale back to its former London home

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Zoe Jones: Our Legal System is Failing to Protect Us

November 26, 2019 by Extinction Rebellion

Mitigation statement delivered by Zoe Jones, 23, a charity worker from Bristol, when she pleaded guilty in October to breaching Section 14 of the Public Order Act during the April Rebellion. “I come here today in the interest of transparency and truth. Truthfully, I was a complete nerd at school. I loved…

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Rebel Who Glued On in Court Sent to Prison

November 18, 2019 by Extinction Rebellion

Melanie Edwards, a carer from South Wales, has been sentenced to seven days in prison for glueing herself on in court during her own trial.  She was found guilty of contempt of court and is serving out her sentence at Bronzefield Prison in Ashford, becoming the first Extinction Rebellion protestor to receive a…

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XR & the Police – Extinction Rebellion Podcast Special 2.7

October 20, 2019 by Extinction Rebellion

Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Spotify Listen on Podomatic Live on all platforms NOW Extinction Rebellion have always had a controversial relationship with the police. During the April Rebellion, there were chants of “we love you” and a practice of liaising with the police before actions.

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Our April Arrestees in Numbers

October 05, 2019 by Extinction Rebellion

For several weeks during the summer, a pair of reporters from Tortoise Media came to our regular Friday plea hearings. Last week they published their report, an in-depth look at how we’re taking out truth to the courts. As well as featuring a few of our defendants, they also produced some…

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Video: My World was Blown Apart and Brought Together at The Same Time

October 05, 2019 by Extinction Rebellion

Ele Waters, 46, from Liskeard Cornwall runs a natural burial site and is building her own off-grid home in a permaculture community. She is pleading not guilty after being arrested in April. “I’ve been a permaculturist now for 26 years, and we’ve planted 21,000 trees, we set up a natural burial site, we…

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Cecily Bedner: This Was An Act of Self Defence

October 05, 2019 by Extinction Rebellion

Cecily Bedner, 20, a film and digital arts student from Plymouth, told the court she broke the law for her sister, aged five. This is the mitigation statement she read out in court. “I’m not here to tell you that I wasn’t there or I didn’t break the law.  What I will tell…

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Janet Young: How Could I Stand By and Do Nothing

October 05, 2019 by Extinction Rebellion

Janet Young, a 72-year old retired social worker and grandmother from Devon read out this statement at her plea hearing in August. She was arrested on Waterloo Bridge on the first Tuesday, 16 April. “I am pleading guilty for financial and emotional reasons. I accept that I did not comply with a…

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Andrew Peel: I Told the Truth and Acted As Though the Truth is Real

October 05, 2019 by Extinction Rebellion

Andrew Peel, 59, a delivery driver from Norwich, read out this statement at his plea hearing on Friday. His tipping point, he says, was watching the action on the London bridges in November and seeing a banner that said “For My Children”. “Following a serious health issue in 2014 in which I almost…

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