London Police Warn Protesters of Arrests Ahead of Embassy Rally

London police issued a warning on Friday that demonstrators planning to support the pro-Palestinian group Palestine Action face arrest. The alert was directed at those expected to gather outside the United States Embassy in the British capital on Saturday afternoon. A parallel demonstration is also scheduled for the American Consulate in Edinburgh, Scotland.

The protest is being organized by the group Defend Our Juries. Organizers expect hundreds of participants to attend the event in the Battersea area on the south bank of the Thames. Adam Slonecki, the commander of the police operation, stated that anyone planning to attend knows that supporting a proscribed organization is an unlawful act. He described the gathering as participants deliberately intending to commit an offense.

Slonecki clarified that arrests are not limited to those carrying signs. Police indicated that individuals who help organize the demonstration, give instructions, or provide logistical support could also be charged with offenses under the Terrorism Act. He urged prospective participants to reconsider their attendance, noting that the police are taking determined action where expressing a view entails criminal activity.

Organizers declared that they do not intend to be deterred by the police warning. In a released statement, they called on participants to carry signs reading, "I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action." The organizers claimed that more than 3,850 people have already been arrested in Britain since July 2025 in protests against the proscription of the organization.

A spokesperson for the organizers said that Halloween is the time to expose the reality of authoritarian overreach. The group argued that targeting the US Embassy and the Edinburgh Consulate exposes the Trumpian character of the assault on freedom of expression. They stated that the ban on Palestine Action was intended to appease US President Donald Trump and Israeli arms companies whose operations were disrupted by the group.

The organizers asserted that the decision to outlaw the group followed American pressure. They recalled that activists vandalized Trump’s golf resort in Scotland with paint. According to their claims, Trump defined the act as terrorism and held talks with then-British Prime Minister Keir Starmer regarding the organization.

Palestine Action was founded in 2020 and rose to prominence through actions directed against defense companies maintaining ties with Israel, primarily Elbit Systems. Its activists broke into facilities and vandalized property. In June 2025, the UK declared the group a proscribed organization under the Terrorism Act. An appellate court ruling in June of this year kept the ban in force.

The protest is scheduled to take place just days before a British Supreme Court hearing on November 4 and 5 regarding the ban. Organizers are demanding that the court overturn the decision, arguing that it disproportionately harms freedom of speech and the right to protest. They stated that the mass arrests anticipated following the protest will expose the fundamental rights at stake in the Supreme Court hearing.