March Fourteen arrested as 400 gather for lockdown protest in city
FOURTEEN people were arrested at an anti-lockdown march attended by 400 people in Bristol at the weekend.
Conspiracy theory group Stand Up Bristol – which has 2,800 Facebook members – organised Saturday’s march.
Supporters gathered on College Green before marching through the city. Police were seen arresting Piers Corbyn, the brother of former Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn, at the march after he addressed the crowd.
Avon and Somerset police said: “The Stand Up Bristol demonstration took place in spite of national restrictions prohibiting gatherings of more than two and prior warnings from police that the event was unlawful.
“Around 400 people gathered from 12pm on College Green before marching through the city centre.
“Officers engaged with protesters as soon as they started gathering and continued to direct participants to leave the area.
“A number of people were identified as leading the protest throughout the day and were subsequently arrested.”
Chief Inspector Mark Runacres said: “While we understand the right to freedom of expression is an important part of our democracy, protests aren’t currently allowed under coronavirus regulations.
“And so unlike previous protests which have taken place during the pandemic, we couldn’t legally or morally facilitate today’s event.
“We warned the organisers repeatedly of the consequences should they press ahead with their plans, both in terms of the enforcement we would take and the risk it presented in spreading Covid19, but sadly they chose to ignore these.
“Knowing there was a possibility of the protest going ahead, a comprehensive policing plan was put in place and while officers initially looked to encourage people to leave the area it became clear enforcement action was necessary.”
One protester told the Post that laws don’t matter to “enlightened” people.
“The rules to people who are enlightened don’t matter,” said the woman, who gave her name as Xara. “We don’t care and we will not be slaves to the system. End of.”
Government statistics released on Friday showed the reproduction (R) rate in the South West is potentially the highest in England, and on Saturday 645 cases of coronavirus were confirmed in Bristol alone.
But Xara insisted: “We will not put anyone’s lives or health safety at risk, ever. “People who have underlying health issues or people who are ill, obviously we would never go near them.
“But people who are healthy, we can do our thing.
“To stop local businesses is an absolute disgrace. It’s abominable. And we are not having it. We are all standing together to say this is c**p and we think it’s a pantomime.” Meeting more than one person from outside of your household group is currently banned under the second national lockdown.
The rules to people who are enlightened don’t matter. We don’t care and we will not be slaves to the system. Anti-lockdown protester Xara