Palestine Action Defendants Face Terror Accusations Over Trump Golf Course Attack

Duration: 5:00 943 transcript words EN summary

Video summary

The recent designation of Palestine Action as a global terror organization by the United States has intensified legal scrutiny over the group's activities, particularly regarding the vandalism of former US President Donald Trump's Turnberry Golf Course in Scotland last March. The activists spray-painted "Gaza is not for sale" on the green, dug holes in the turf, applied weed killer, and splattered red paint across the clubhouse. At the time, Palestine Action claimed responsibility for these acts, which subsequently triggered direct diplomatic engagement between then-UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Trump. In a social media post, Trump referred to the perpetrators as terrorists who caused "serious damage," a phrase that aligns with technical definitions of terrorism under British law, setting the stage for the group's eventual proscription by the UK Home Secretary just months later. Seven individuals have now been charged with malicious damage for their involvement in the golf course incident and are facing new accusations of terrorism as prosecutors seek to establish a terror connection in the case. Huda Amorei, co-founder of Palestine Action, argued that this criminalization exposes the true intent behind the ban on the group, asserting that their direct actions were designed to save lives by disrupting arms profits and protesting against the policies enabling violence in Gaza. She warned that if the defendants are convicted as terrorists, they could face significantly enhanced sentences, delayed parole eligibility, and a fifteen-year requirement to register changes of address, jobs, and phone numbers with counterterrorism police, effectively subjecting them to heightened monitoring for minor acts of vandalism. The case has drawn significant international attention, notably from The New York Times, highlighting the absurdity of elevating a dispute over spray-painted golf turf to a matter of global historical consequence. The host of the discussion noted the stark irony that such a petty grievance involving a wealthy individual's property could escalate into a story illustrating how the genocide in Gaza is fracturing the liberal world order. This contradiction forces a choice between supporting principles like free speech and peace while simultaneously being unable to criticize Israel or engage in direct action against its actions, creating a complex tension where defending one's political adversaries becomes legally perilous. Ultimately, the potential sentencing of these activists as terrorists for graffiti could set a dangerous precedent that influences future jury behavior. The host observed that juries have already shown reluctance to convict defendants of criminal damage when judges do not explicitly rule out terrorism charges, fearing that such convictions would lead to severe escalation. If these seven individuals are indeed sentenced as terrorists, it may embolden prosecutors and judges to pursue similar strategies in other cases, thereby chilling direct action protests and altering the landscape of political dissent in the UK and beyond. The situation underscores a profound shift where minor acts of protest are being redefined through the lens of national security, with far-reaching implications for civil liberties and the definition of terrorism itself.

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On Thursday's show, we discussed the US designation of Palestine action as a global terror organization. As part of that coverage, we looked at the vandalization of US President Donald Trump's Turnbury Golf Course in Scotland. Um, which took place in March last year. Um, that involved spray painting in large letters the message Gaza is not for sale on the green. Um, they also dug holes um and sprayed weed killer on the turf. Um, splattering the clubhouse with red paint. Now, at the time, Palestine Action claimed responsibility for it. Um, that in turn led to at least two phone calls between then Prime Minister Karma and Trump and the contents of which remain shrouded in mystery despite several freedom of information requests. Um, Trump himself though alluded to some of what was said um in this truth social post at the time back in March. He said, um, I was just informed by Prime Minister Starmer of the United Kingdom that they caught the terrorists who attacked the beautiful Turnbury in Scotland. They did serious damage and will hopefully be treated harshly. The free people who did this are in prison. You cannot let things like this attack happen. And I greatly appreciate the work of Prime Minister Starmmer and UK law enforcement. Now, of course, that's Trump calling Palestine Action terrorists and using the phrase serious damage. That's a technical term that also appears in the British terrorism acts definition of terrorism. Um just months later, then Home Secretary V. Cooper would go on to prescribe the group as a terror organization. Um a first of course for a domestic direct action group um in British history. Um, well, there has been a development in the case of the activists accused of doing the damage to Trump's cause. Seven people charged with malicious damage for the action and now facing accusations of terrorism with prosecutors seeking to argue that there was a terror connection in the case. Now, remember what we're talking about here is spray paint, weed killer, and some holes in a golf course. Um, also worth noting that now the New York Times is reporting this, meaning the wider world is paying even more attention to this absurdity. In a comment, Palestine Action co-founder Huda Amorei said this about the development. This lays bare what the ban on Palestine Action has always been about. We use direct action protests to save lives, the opposite of terrorism by disrupting the flow of arms being used to murder Palestinians by hitting the profits of arms companies and by daring to spray paint on the golf course owned by the demagogue who was enabled Netanyahu's crimes. We made powerful enemies. The British government chose to appease them by criminalizing us as terrorists. Um if the seven are found guilty of the charges and sentenced as terrorists, um it could mean well it would mean enhanced sentences um delaying parole if they're jailed and um 15 years of having to register new relationships. That's what happens if you have a terror charge um as well as changes of address jobs and phones um with counterterrorism police. So you basically have heightened monitoring for 15 years all for vandalism. Now Richard, if this gets found like looking at those images, there is I sort of smiling when I look at those images because if this happens, this will be the most popular act of terrorism probably in world history cuz you show you show like any find a random person in the street that picture of like Donald Trump's golf course >> with some spray paint on it and they'll be like it's kind of cool, isn't it? I think this is one of the most astonishing stories because it it takes us between a deeply deeply petty individual sulk that Trump is having uh about someone spray painting his golf course perhaps like making some of his members uh lower their subscriptions or something. I don't know who goes to golf courses but I assume it's people who we are our political sort of like adversaries in some description. Those people probably are, you know, complain to him or something like that, right? It goes from that all the way up to a vast story, right, which is that Israel's genocide in Gaza has broken the liberal world order, right? Liberalism across the country is the support of the genocide is is fracturing on this contradiction of on the one hand saying we're all we we you know we support we support peace, we support free speech and so on. Also, you can't attack Israel. You can't um you know say there was a genocide. can't, you know, do anything uh against it in terms of direct action. So, it's it's it's one of these these stories that is at once extremely funny about this extremely petty man and of like world historical consequence. And it's very difficult to kind of mush those two things together, I think, into the same kind of same kind of frame. M I mean again I mean we did a story last week, didn't we, of you know juries saying well I mean they didn't say it explicitly but it seemed as if they may be refusing to convict people of criminal damage because the judge wouldn't reassure them that they wouldn't then slap on um terrorism charges. And if people end up going if people end up getting sentenced as terrorists for spraying some spray paint on Donald Trump's golf course, I imagine that more juries will be doing that in the future.