According to a spokesperson for extremist climate group Extinction Rebellion, one of the group’s founders has been arrested by UK police for conspiracy to cause criminal damage after members attacked two London banks.
Dr. Gail Bradbrook, who was involved in Extinction Rebellion’s campaign against financial institutions known as “Money Rebellion,” was reportedly arrested in her home by officers from London’s Metropolitan Police for conspiracy to commit criminal damage and fraud.
BREAKING: Extinction Rebellion Co-founder Gail Bradbrook arrested at her home this morning
Extinction Rebellion co-founder Gail Bradbrook was arrested by officers from the Metropolitan Police at her home in Stroud at around 5:30 am this morning. pic.twitter.com/iQQohWtLQM
— Extinction Rebellion UK 🌍 (@XRebellionUK) May 11, 2021
Back in March, Extinction Rebellion, which is deemed an extremist organisation by UK terrorism police, smashed windows of Barclays and HSBC banks in London, also targeting Lloyds of London Insurance Market.
Earlier today, militant anti-capitalism activists with Extinction Rebellion used hammers to break the windows of a bank in the Canary Wharf business district of London. pic.twitter.com/DbAk8r9JmP
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) April 7, 2021
Extinction Rebellion: Counter-terrorism police list group as 'extremist' in guide https://t.co/9jxWuMYMjS
— BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) January 10, 2020
According to an Extinction Rebellion spokesperson, the fraud charge was in relation to a campaign to use personal credit card debts to make donations to groups that had allegedly been hurt by banks. Subsequently, the borrower would refuse to pay off the debt.
Bradbrook, 49, has a PhD in molecular biophysics, and is one of three original founders of Extinction Rebellion, along with Simon Bramwell and Roger Hallam.
Notably, Hallam was the subject of controversy in 2019 when he made remarks downplaying the seriousness of the Holocaust, saying it was “just another f*ckery in human history” and “almost a normal event.”
Extinction Rebellion founder’s Holocaust remarks spark fury | Extinction Rebellion | The Guardian https://t.co/EdUGrd8Bjv
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) November 22, 2019
Additionally, speaking at an Amnesty International event, he said that to combat climate change it was necessary to “bring governments down”, and admitted that “Some may die in the process…there’s no real change without pain.”