Activists protest outside the Houses of Parliament in London. Extinction Rebellion and other environmental groups are protesting for four days from Friday to Monday, with an event they are calling ‘The Big One’. AP
London, United Kingdom: Two climate protesters who scaled a significant bridge over the River Thames east of London and caused massive traffic delays were sentenced to prison on Friday.
In October, Marcus Decker, 34, and Morgan Trowland, 40, scaled the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge using climbing gear.
From 4:00 am on 17 October to 9:00 pm, the next day, the bridge was closed, forcing traffic to congest surrounding tunnels and resulting in major backups.
Trowland was given a three-year prison sentence by Southend Crown Court Judge Shane Collery, while Decker received a two-year, seven-month sentence.
“You have to be punished for the chaos you caused and to deter others from copying you,” said the judge.
He told the pair, from the Just Stop Oil protest group: “(You) plainly believed you knew better than everyone else”.
“By your actions you caused this very important road to be closed for 40 hours,” he added.
Traffic chaos
The pair, who were found guilty at a trial for causing a public nuisance, have been in custody since 20 October.
The Queen Elizabeth II Bridge is used by an estimated 160,000 vehicles a day and links up to one of Europe’s busiest motorways.
At nearly 60 metres (200 feet) above the road, they unfurled a giant “Just Stop Oil” banner, the court was told.
Just Stop Oil has mounted a series of disruptive protests to try to stop the UK government from sanctioning new North Sea oil and gas exploration.
Essex Police said that those affected by the gridlock included a “heavily pregnant woman who needed urgent medical help”.
Another person missed the funeral of their best friend of 35 years, and a business lost more than ?160,000 (nearly $200,000) in earnings, it added.
Jacob Bindman, Trowland’s lawyer, told the court that his client “doesn’t intend to undertake any large-scale disruptive protests in the future”.
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