Authorities in central London clashed with anti-lockdown protesters on Saturday and made 155 arrests after Metropolitan police declared the demonstration unlawful, according to reports.
The Guardian newspaper described a chaotic scene that at one point involved a man dressed as Santa Claus who stopped traffic while chanting “Freedom!”
The protests broke out after new lockdown orders affected 20 million across England, according to Reuters. London was placed on the second-strictest order, which means no household mixing and bars can only sell alcohol with a substantial meal. The report said areas like Manchester and parts of Kent have the most restrictive orders.
“This will cause real hardship for people whose jobs will be affected and risk the loss of many businesses,” Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, told Reuters.
Police in London were criticized for their early intervention in the protest and faced shouts like, “Choose your Side,” the Guardian reported.
Silkie Carlo, the head of Big Brother Watch, told the paper the police approach to protests seems to be unusually aggressive.
“The incompetence and casual authoritarianism demonstrated by the Met Police here is breathtaking,” she said. “The right to protest is the bedrock of any democracy. It’s clear to me that there’s a deliberate attempt to chill that right and misrepresent the law.”
The paper reported the city’s police responded in a statement that these anti-lockdown protests are “not currently a permitted exemption to the prohibition on gatherings under the current coronavirus regulations.”
TREND FORECAST: The clash between people and the state will continue to escalate across the globe as economies fall deeper into the “Greatest Depression” during the coming winter slowdown months. More draconian laws will be imposed by governments to stifle dissent, and more people will take to the streets in the fight for Freedom, Peace, and Justice. This will be a 2021 mega-trend.
