A 21-year-old woman is set to appear in court accused of holding an anti-Semitic sign at a pro-Palestine rally.
Laura Davis, of Barnet, was arrested on October 28 after she allegedly held a racially offensive and anti-Semitic sign during a demonstration in Westminster, London.
She has been charged with racially aggravated threatening and abusive behaviour, intended to cause harassment, alarm or distress.
Davis, 21, is currently on bail and scheduled to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on November 29.
Met Police today reiterated that the force is ‘relentlessly targeting those who commit hate crimes’ and has increased patrols across the capital in a bid to keep all Londoners – specifically those in ‘vulnerable’ communities – safe.
Pro-Palestine protesters holding flags gather in London with flags on October 28
Davis was arrested last month after around 100,000 people took marched through the streets of central London in protest of the Israel-Hamas war.
She was charged in relation to an incident in the vicinity of Piccadilly Circus where a placard that was ‘threatening and racist in nature’ was displayed.
A second person was also arrested in the vicinity of Piccadilly Circus for a racially aggravated public order offence relating to a placard, but was released.
That individual was released with no further action to be taken following a decision by the Crown Prosecution Service.
At least 11 people were taken into custody at the October 28 rally, which was organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign. The march set off from Victoria Embankment at midday and finished at Parliament Square.
Protesters took to the streets waving Palestinian flags, chanting ‘Free, Free Palestine’ and ‘Israel is a terrorist state’. Others held placards up which read ‘Freedom for Palestine’ and ‘Stop bombing Gaza’.
Another group were heard singing: ‘Gaza Gaza don’t you cry, we will never let you die. In our thousands in our millions, we are all Palestinians’.
One woman was knocked over by a police horse startled by the sound of fireworks near the Houses of Parliament. She was trampled on but the Met Police said she sustained minor injuries and didn’t require hospital treatment.
The Met deployed more than 1,000 officers to the protest and vowed to ‘intervene’ if protesters shouted ‘jihad’ during the demonstrations. London Mayor Sadiq Khan had also warned the force ‘will do everything in its power to tackle hate’.
In a statement today, the force reiterated its commitment to tackling hate crimes across the capital.
A spokesperson said: ‘The Met is listening to, and working with, London communities and partners during these difficult times.
‘We want all Londoners to feel safe and we will look carefully at any concerns raised including the circumstances of each event and will take positive action against those committing any crime or hate crime.
‘We have increased patrols and assigned more than 1,000 officers to provide high visibility patrols across London, particularly where we know communities feel vulnerable to reassure and keep them safe.
‘We are relentlessly targeting those who commit hate crimes and threaten our communities and pursuing suspects in many other cases. Anyone who is the victim of hate crime or is worried about their safety in any way, is urged to contact police on 101 or 999 in an emergency.’
Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk
