‘Palestine Action activist hit officer with hammer’

A suspected Palestine Action member attacked a police officer with a hammer, breaking his back during a staged burglary at an Israeli defense company, a court heard.

Woolwich Crown Court heard that six people accused of breaking into Elbit Systems, near Bristol, meticulously planned the incident on August 6, 2024 to cause as much damage to the factory as possible.

Charlotte Head, 29, Samuel Corner, 23, Leona Kamio, 30, Fatema Rajwani, 21, Zoe Rogers, 22, and Jordan Devlin, 31, are jointly charged with aggravated burglary, criminal damage and violent disorder.

They deny all charges and Mr Corner denies an additional allegation of grievous bodily harm.

Opening the trial on Tuesday, Judge Johnson told jurors that the allegations they would consider predated Palestine Action’s banning under anti-terrorism laws last June. He added that the ban was not theirs and was not relevant to the evidence in this case.

Opening the prosecution’s case, Deanna Heer KC said the six defendants had been “willing participants” in a plan to cause damage to the factory which manufactures defense technology equipment.

Wearing red jumpsuits and carrying sledgehammers, they used a prison van, allegedly driven by Charlotte Head, to break through the security barrier, before breaking into the factory itself, the court heard.

Ms Heer told the jury each of the ‘red team’ members carried a sledgehammer to cause damage – but they were also prepared to use it as weapons.

“The evidence demonstrates that all of these defendants used them for this purpose, to threaten or attack security officers and to support each other,” she said.

“When the police arrived, as the defendants knew they would, Samuel Corner attacked them, going so far as to strike a police officer, Sgt Kate Evans, in the back with his hammer while she was on the ground facing him.”

Ms Heer said it took the red team three minutes to gain access to the factory, first by cutting through a roller door and then breaking it down with the prison van.

“Inside the warehouse, the red team set about destroying as much property as possible,” Ms. Heer said, adding that the group was armed with sledgehammers, whips and fireworks.

“I screamed in pain”

“They used fire extinguishers filled with red paint to spray the walls and floor.

“They used crowbars and hammers to damage computer equipment and boxes of technical products, which they broke.

“The structure of the building was also damaged, not only the loading dock but also the security systems and even the disabled toilets,” she added.

Footage shown during the opening speech reportedly shows Zoe Rogers brandishing and brandishing a hammer in front of a security guard, Angelo Volante.

He also said he was whipped by Charlotte Head and threatened with a saw by Leona Kamio.

Eventually he withdrew, but later returned with the police. As he led the officers into the factory, a video played to the jury Tuesday showed Ms. Kamio raising her hammer above her head and bringing it toward him.

She was then tasered, but continued to resist arrest. The video then allegedly shows Samuel Corner approaching Sgt Evans and hitting his back with a hammer.

“After hitting her once, he raised the hammer again and hit her a second time,” Ms Heer said.

“Fortunately, Sgt Evans was wearing a bulletproof vest which could have absorbed the force of the impacts. Nonetheless, she screamed in pain as she felt the force of the blows.

“She was immediately terrified that her spine had been damaged and when she tried she couldn’t get up.”

Sgt Evans suffered a fractured vertebra and was unable to work for three months. Due to the lingering consequences of her injury, she was confined to restricted duties.

The trial is expected to last until January.

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