The leader of the anti-monarchist group Republic, Graham Smith, and other militant organizers of a protest against the coronation of King Charles III of the United Kingdom have been arrested this Saturday by the Police before the start of the event. The organization Republic itself has reported the arrests.
Smith had been collecting banners for protesters in Trafalgar Square when he was detained by police, according to The Guardian newspaper.
Republic seeks to replace the monarch with an elected head of state and today supports a protest under the slogan 'Not My King' (not my king).
"They were picking up the banners and taking them away when the police stopped them," said Harry Stratton, a member of Republic, who arrived when Smith and the others were detained.
Thus, several members of the organization were collecting the banners from a vehicle when they were detained.
"The guys asked why and they said: we'll tell you that once we've searched the vehicle. That's when they arrested six organizers. We asked them for what reason they had been arrested, but they didn't answer. It's a surprise since we had had several meetings with the police. They had been doing everything correctly," added Stratton.
The arrest occurred around 7:30 a.m. local time when hundreds of anti-monarchist protesters had gathered in Trafalgar Square with flags and yellow shirts to highlight their opposition to the monarch's coronation.
The forces of order have carried out a strong security device, with more than 10,000 agents deployed on the streets of the British capital to ensure that the event passes without incident.
The Law on Police, Crimes, Sentences and Courts, promoted by Boris Johnson, meant a significant cut in the rights of assembly and demonstration. This norm is now being used to restrict the possibilities of demonstrating for the anti-monarchists, mobilized against the coronation of Carlos III.
The United Kingdom is also processing a Public Order Law that seeks to further restrict protests, with sentences of six months in jail for chaining or "sticking" to a building, a pole or the road to cut off traffic on bridges , on motorways or on infrastructures.
