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arms trade
'Vindication': UK Jury Clears Palestine Action Protesters Who Admitted to Elbit Break-In
“These verdicts are a huge blow to government ministers who have tried to portray Palestine Action as a violent group to justify banning it under badly drafted terrorism legislation," said one campaigner.
Feb 04, 2026
In what one campaigner called a "huge blow" to the UK government's efforts to crush Palestine Action, a London jury on Wednesday cleared six members of the direct action group of aggravated burglary—even after they admitted to breaking into and vandalizing an Israel-linked weapons facility.
Zoe Rogers, Fatema Zainab Rajwani, Charlotte Head, Samuel Corner, Leona Kamio, and Jordan Devlin—six of the so-called "Filton 24"—were found not guilty of aggravated burglary and criminal damage by a jury at Woolwich Crown Court after eight days of deliberation. Devlin, Rajwani, and Rogers were found not guilty of violent disorder, although verdicts were not reached for the three others on the charge.
Prosecutors alleged that the six activists drove a van like a "battering ram" to smash their way into the Elbit Systems UK research, development, and manufacturing facility in Bristol early on August 6, 2024 in a "meticulously organized" attack targeting the subsidiary of the Israeli arms firm Elbit Systems.
❗️BREAKING -- Palestine Action protesters found not guilty of burglary at Elbit weapons factory in Bristol.The six activists were also not convicted of other charges, having spent 18 months in jail awaiting trial.realmedia.press/filton-verdi...
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— Declassified UK (@declassifieduk.org) February 4, 2026 at 5:02 AM
The defendants—who had been imprisoned on remand for 17 months—were also accused of using fire extinguishers to spray red paint throughout the facility and of using crowbars and hammers to break computers and other equipment.
The activists admitted to breaking into the facility, only disputing that the sledgehammers were offensive weapons and arguing that they were only meant to damage property.
After the verdicts were announced, the courtroom erupted in cheers and the six cleared activists hugged in the dock.
“These verdicts are a huge blow to government ministers who have tried to portray Palestine Action as a violent group to justify banning it under badly drafted terrorism legislation," said a spokesperson for the group Defend Our Juries, which has organized numerous protests in support of Palestine Action.
“Despite government efforts to prejudice this trial, citing the allegations of violence to justify treating Palestine Action as ‘terrorists’, as if they were already proved, the jury which heard the evidence has refused to find the defendants guilty of anything, not even criminal damage," the spokesperson added. "It shows how out of step this government is with public opinion, which is revulsed by the government and Elbit’s complicity in genocide.”
The jury failed to reach a verdict on an additional charge against Corner, who allegedly caused grievous bodily harm by hitting Police Sgt. Kate Evans in the back with a sledgehammer as she laid on the floor, fracturing her spine.
Journalist Adam Ramsay pointed out that Corner's altercation with Evans "was widely used to justify the proscription of Palestine Action."
"The fact that the jury, who heard the full story, didn’t convict him of a crime leaves the case for proscription in tatters," Ramsay added.
Corner—and possibly other defendants—could face new trials on certain charges if the Crown Prosecution Service determines that there is a realistic chance of conviction and if further action serves the public interest.
Eighteen other alleged Palestine Action members are currently awaiting trials scheduled for later this year.
Numerous observers said the verdicts obliterate the government's rationale for banning Palestine Action under the highly contentious Terrorism Act of 2000.
"I'm not sure people appreciate quite what a blow to [UK Prime Minister Keir] Starmer's government the acquittal of the Palestine Action protestors is," East Anglia Law School professor Paul Bernal said on Bluesky. "It both blows apart the whole proscription idea and demonstrates how out of touch they are."
"This was a jury," Bernal added. "Juries represent the public."
Journalist Jonathan Cook noted that "the UK government pinned its case for declaring Palestine Action a terrorist organization largely on the trial of the so-called Filton Six, claiming they had proved the group to be violent. A jury today found none of them guilty of any of the charges."
A declassified UK intelligence report published last September by the New York Times acknowledged that “the majority” of Palestine Action’s activities “would not be classified as terrorism” under the country's highly contentious Terrorism Act of 2000.
In addition to the Filton break-in, Palestine Action's direct action protests have also including spray-painting warplanes at a British military base and defacing US President Donald Trump’s Turnberry golf resort in Scotland—acts experts say do not constitute terrorism.
Britain's Terrorism Act has long been condemned by civil liberties defenders, who decry the law’s “vague and overbroad” definition of terrorism, chilling effect on free speech and expression, invasive stop-and-search powers, pre-charge detention and control orders, sweeping surveillance and data collection, and other provisions.
According to rights groups, more than 2,700 people have been arrested during demonstrations of support for Palestine Action since the group’s proscription. Many of those arrested did nothing more than hold up signs reading: “I Oppose Genocide. I Support Palestine Action.”
Arrestees include many elders, including 83-year-old Rev. Sue Parfitt, who argued that “we cannot be bystanders” in the face of Israel’s US and UK-backed genocide in Gaza, which has left more than 250,000 Palestinians dead, maimed, or missing; nearly 2 million people forcibly displaced; and hundreds of thousands starved by design.
The Filton trial tells us two things: 1. The justice system cannot defeat us. If we trust in the inherent goodness of people, of empathy, of those of us willing to fight against oppression and genocide, we can and will be free.2. Direct action gets the fucking goods.
— BASH BACK (@bashback.bsky.social) February 4, 2026 at 8:28 AM
Last September, a panel of United Nations experts concluded that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague is currently reviewing a genocide case filed against Israel by South Africa.
The International Criminal Court (ICC), also located in the Dutch city, issued warrants in November 2024 for the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes committed during the 27-month assault and siege on Gaza.
Numerous Palestine Action members and supporters have gone on a monthslong life-threatening hunger strike to protest the defendants' imprisonment on remand and to demand a fair trial, lifting of the ban on Palestine Action, and closure of Elbit Systems’ UK facilities.
Late last month, Muhammad Umer Khalid, the last of the Palestine Action hunger strikers, began eating again after he was hospitalized with multiple organ failure.
Naila Ahmed, head of campaigns at CAGE International, said in a statement Wednesday that the Filton verdicts are "a powerful affirmation of jury independence and moral courage in the face of extraordinary political pressure."
"Though they cannot get back the 17 months of their life taken from them unlawfully, they should all be compensated and the remaining 18 defendants of the Filton 24 should also be released on bail," she added. "This case was used to justify the ban against Palestine Action, a decision that should now be overturned."
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'No One Else Has It,' Claims Trump When Asked About 'Secret Sonic Weapon' Used in Venezuela
"We have weapons that no one knows about," claimed the US president. "It's probably better not to talk about it, but we have amazing weapons."
Jan 21, 2026
President Donald Trump, a documented liar, appeared to confirm in a televised interview that aired Tuesday night that the US military deployed a "secret sonic weapon" against Venezuelan and Cuban soldiers during the Jan. 3 raid in Caracas that killed scores of people, including civilians.
Asked about the existence or use of such a "sonic weapon" by NewsNation's Katie Pavlich—and whether Americans should be concerned about it—Trump responded, "No one else has it. We have weapons that no one knows about. It's probably better not to talk about it, but we have amazing weapons. It was an amazing attack."
Question: There was sonic weapon that took out many of the Cuban bodyguards that were used…Is that something Americans should be afraid of?
Trump: It’s something I don’t wanna—nobody else has it. pic.twitter.com/hb0VP6yoXD
— Acyn (@Acyn) January 21, 2026
This is not the first time the White House has hinted at the idea that such a weapon was used in the assault on Venezuela—an operation which resulted in the unlawful kidnapping of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.
On Jan. 10, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt shared an English-language translation of a purported interview with a Venezuelan "security guard loyal to Maduro," who described the night of the assault by US forces.
In the interview, the veracity of which cannot be independently verified and reeked to some as a clear example of US-generated propaganda or counterintelligence, the guard described "a massacre" by US personnel who, he said, "launched something—I don't know how to describe it... it was like a very intense sound wave. Suddenly I felt like my head was exploding from the inside. We all started bleeding from the nose. Some were vomiting blood. We fell to the ground, unable to move."
It's no secret that the US military has been developing sonic weapons, which can use sound waves or focused microwaves to cause pain or discomfort to those targeted. Such "directed energy weapons" have been referred to simply as "pain rays," but go by various names, depending on the technology being used.
According to a detailed look at the US military's development and use of such weapons and the speculation surrounding the Venezuela assault, TWZ's Joseph Trevithick reports that it "should be reiterated that there is currently no evidence to substantiate the claim that the US military used a 'sonic weapon' during Operation Absolute Resolve. At the same time, this is hardly the first time American forces are alleged to have employed mysterious, less-than-lethal, and/or non-kinetic capabilities."
However, the outlet noted, "if any unit would have an exotic directed energy weapon used to disable adversaries during an assault, it would be Delta Force," the special forces branch that led the attack on Maduro's compound.
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China Rips US ‘Warmongers’ as Trump Admin Proposes $11 Billion Taiwan Arms Sale
China's foreign minister warned that US weapons sales to Taipei "will only accelerate the push towards a perilous state of military confrontation across the Taiwan Strait."
Dec 18, 2025
The Chinese government on Thursday condemned the Trump administration's announcement of a proposed $11 billion weapons package for Taiwan, a move that Beijing said violates both the "One China" principle and an agreement in which the US pledged to reduce arms sales to Taipei.
The US State Department said the record $11.154 billion package contains a broad range of weaponry and other military equipment, including Lockheed Martin High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), Lockheed Martin Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) long-range missiles, BAE Systems M109A7 self-propelled howitzers, drones and tactical software, Javelin and TOW missiles, and M2A1 machine guns and other armaments.
"This proposed sale serves US national, economic, and security interests by supporting the recipient’s continuing efforts to modernize its armed forces and to maintain a credible defensive capability," the State Department said in a statement. "The proposed sale will help improve the security of the recipient and assist in maintaining political stability, military balance, and economic progress in the region."
Taiwanese leaders thanked the US for its continued efforts to help the island defend itself.
However, Chen Binhua, spokesperson for China's Taiwan Affairs Office, blasted the proposed sale as “flagrant interference in China’s internal affairs" that "severely undermines China’s sovereignty and security interests and sends erroneous signals to separatist forces."
Chen said that the arms package "gravely violates" the "One China" principle, which, to the US means that the People's Republic of China (PRC) is “the sole legal government of China," but to Beijing means that Taiwan—which it views as a breakaway province—is an inseparable part of the Chinese nation.
While the US acknowledges the PRC's position that there is but one China, Washington does not recognize or accept Beijing's stance. Although it has no formal diplomatic relations with Taipei, the US is obliged under the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act to "provide Taiwan with arms of a defensive character."
China says this directly contradicts US obligations under the so-called "Three Communiques" with Beijing—especially an August 17, 1982 agreement under which Washington pledged that it would respect PRC sovereignty and that it "intends gradually to reduce its sale of arms to Taiwan."
China has accused the US of violating the August 17 communique with each of its many arms sales to Taiwan.
"We urge the United States to immediately cease its policy of arming Taiwan and to stop condoning and supporting separatist forces advocating Taiwan independence," Chen said Thursday. "We urge the United States to exercise the utmost caution in handling the Taiwan issue.”
Chen added that US "warmongers" and Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party—which he accused of “stubbornly pursuing independence”—risk turning the island into a "powder keg" and the Taiwanese people into "cannon fodder."
Under pressure from the Trump administration to buy more US arms, Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te last month announced a special $40 billion budget for the purchase of weapons between 2026 and 2033.
The latest proposed US arms sale follows Congress' passage of the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which authorizes up to $1 billion in funding for Taiwan's defense. US President Donald Trump is expected to imminently sign the record $900.6 billion bill into law.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said Thursday that the US effort to contain China by arming Taiwan is "doomed to fail."
"It will only accelerate the push towards a perilous state of military confrontation across the Taiwan Strait,” he added.
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