On June 12, 2026, four members of the Palestine Action terrorist organization were sentenced for their violent attack on Elbit Systems, which left one police officer with a fractured spine. Elbit Systems UK (ESUK) is an independent subsidiary of Israel's largest military contractor, Elbit Systems Ltd. ESUK operates nine facilities throughout the UK, and produces equipment exclusively for the UK Ministry of Defense and other non‑Israeli customers.
The raid took place on August 6, 2024, at ESUK's facility in the town of Filton, six miles north of the city of Bristol in Southwest England. The coordinated attack on ESUK involved twenty-four Palestine Action terrorists divided into a red team and a black team, distinguishable by the color of their jumpsuits. The terrorists purchased an armor-plated prison van from used police stock. The night of the assault, they drove the van through the perimeter fence at 3:30 AM. The twelve-member black team followed the van on foot, armed with smoke grenades, flares, and fireworks. The black team's objective was to overwhelm the security guards to allow the red team to break into the factory.
While the black team kept the security guards distracted, the red team used an angle grinder to cut the lock on the loading bay door. Palestine Action terrorists then drove the van repeatedly into the door until it failed. The red team was armed with crowbars and 7-pound sledgehammers to destroy property. They also carried fire extinguishers to spray the floors and walls with red paint.
The Palestine Action terrorists destroyed £1.2 million (1.6 million USD) of ESUK property. The list of military hardware destroyed in the raid included the Magni-X and THOR military drones. THOR is a compact medium-range drone that can resupply troops with ammunition and medical kits, or carry up to six grenades in attack mode. Magni‑X is a micro, short-range drone designed primarily for reconnaissance in urban environments. Both drones operate autonomously day and night, even when GPS is jammed. THOR has the added capability of operating as part of a drone swarm.
During the raid, Palestine Action terrorists used sledgehammers against two police officers and one ESUK employee. Police Sergeant Kate Evans was struck twice in the back with a sledgehammer, fracturing her spine, while the ESUK employee was struck in the head. Additionally, Constable Aaron Buxton was struck twice with a sledgehammer on the back of his legs.
The Palestine Action red team live-streamed the raid on ESUK. You can watch their video here. The Independent news organization of London acquired police body-cam video of the incident. The video shows the Palestine Action terrorists using sledgehammers to injure the police officers. You can watch that video here.
Palestine Action admitted responsibility shortly after the attack. They released the following statement:
Israel’s biggest weapons producer, Elbit Systems, uses Gaza as a laboratory to develop its weaponry. Activists directly intervened in this genocidal process by taking aim at Elbit’s research, development, and manufacturing hub. As a party to the Genocide Convention, Britain has a responsibility to prevent the occurrence of genocide. When our government fails to abide by their legal and moral obligations, it’s the responsibility of ordinary people to take direct action.
A few days after the attack, the UK's Counter-Terrorism Policing South East arrested seven of the Palestine Action terrorists. Those arrested were as follows: Samuel Corner, 22; Jordon Devlin, 30; Charlotte Head, 28; Leona Kameo, 28; Fatema Rajwani, 20; Zoe Rogers, 20; and Hannah Davidson, 51.
Another eight members of Palestine Action were arrested three months later in November 2024. Those detainees are as follows: Sean Middlebrough, 32; Aleksandra Herbich, 40; Tutea Hoxa, 28; Julija Brigadirova, 32; Huba Muraisi, 30; Qesser Zuhrah, 19; Zahra Farooque, 24; and Kamran Ahmed, 27.
Ten more members of Palestine Action were arrested at a later date. Their names are as follows: Ian Saunders, 46; William Plastow, 35; Madeline Norman, 31; Archie Thomson, 26; Lily Wood, 23; Huda Ammori, 32; Lewie Chiaramello, 22; Umer Khalid, 22; Liam Mullany, 23; and Harland Archer, 21. This brings the total charged in the ESUK attack to 25 members of Palestine Action.
On July 5, 2025, the Home Secretary (equivalent to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security) officially listed Palestine Action as a terrorist organization under Section 3 of the Terrorism Act 2000. This ruling made it a criminal offense to be a member of Palestine Action or to recklessly express support for them.
On February 13, 2026, the Divisional Court ruled that the decision to list Palestine Action as a terrorist group was unlawful and "disproportionate" and should be overturned. The Administrative Court declared that the ban disproportionately interfered with the right to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly. The ruling was immediately appealed by the Home Secretary.
Due to the large number of defendants, the UK government divided the 25 Palestine Action members into smaller groups for trial. The first group to be prosecuted in court consisted of the following six individuals: Samuel Corner, Jordon Devlin, Charlotte Head, Leona Kameo, Fatema Rajwani, and Zoe Rogers. The trial got underway on Monday, November 17, 2025, at Woolwich Crown Court in South East London.
All six Palestine Action members were charged with aggravated burglary, violent disorder, and criminal damage. Samuel Corner faced the additional charge of grievous bodily harm with intent. In addition, the Crown Prosecution Service requested that all the charges be categorized as having a terrorist connection.
Aggravated burglary is equivalent to armed burglary in the United States. To be guilty of aggravated burglary, the prosecution must prove that the burglary was carried out with an offensive weapon that was designed to cause injury or incapacitation to a person. The maximum penalty for aggravated burglary is life imprisonment.
Violent disorder is equivalent to aggravated riot in the United States. To be guilty of violent disorder, the prosecution must prove that three or more persons threatened violence in a manner that would cause a reasonable person to fear for their personal safety. The maximum penalty for violent disorder is five years.
Criminal damage is equivalent to felony property damage in the United States. To be guilty of criminal damage, the prosecution must prove that a person destroyed or damaged property belonging to another while at the same time the person was reckless as to whether life would be endangered. The maximum penalty for criminal damage in excess of £5,000 is ten years.
Grievous bodily harm with intent is equivalent to aggravated assault with intent in the United States. To be guilty of grievous bodily harm with intent, the prosecution must prove that a person intended to wound or cause really serious harm to another individual. However, the law does not define serious. The maximum penalty for grievous bodily harm with intent is life imprisonment.
A terrorist connection enhancement is similar to a hate crime enhancement in the United States. To be guilty of terrorist connection enhancement, the prosecution must prove the crime was committed to influence the government or intimidate the public to advance a political, religious, racial, or ideological cause. If a judge agrees that a terrorist connection enhancement is warranted, the convicted felon must serve a minimum of two-thirds of their sentence before they are eligible for parole. In addition, the felon is placed on the UK Terrorist Register for up to 15 years and is required to report their addresses, travel plans, and bank accounts to the police.
ALSO SEE: Educated Idiots: Hundreds of Anti-Israel Stanford Students Walk Out on Graduation
Violent Anti-Israel Protest Rocked LA Under Biden - Trump DOJ Is Finally Taking Action
During the trial, Samuel Corner's defense attorney, Tom Wainwright, justified his client's use of a sledgehammer because he was sprayed with Pava, a synthetic pepper spray, and "was acting on instinct." Wainwright invoked Mike Tyson in his client's defense. "Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face. When confronted with reality, unexpected, cold, hard reality, you react."
Charlotte Head's defense attorney, Rajiv Menon, compared his client to the early 20th-century English militant suffrage organization, the Women's Social and Political Union. Menon told the jury that in the early 1900s, the suffragettes were branded a "threat to the social order" and "aggressive and violent," but in reality they "were remarkable women from all walks of life united in their hope, their despair, their defiance and their dedication."
On February 4, 2026, after deliberating for 36 hours and 34 minutes, the jury acquitted all six members of Palestine Action of the charge of aggravated burglary. However, the jury could not reach a consensus on the two lesser charges of violent disorder and criminal damage. Similarly, no verdict was reached against Samuel Corner for inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent on police sergeant Kate Evans by fracturing her spine with a sledgehammer. The Crown Prosecution Service opted to retry all six members of Palestine Action for criminal damage with a terrorism enhancement. Samuel Corner was also retried for grievous bodily harm with intent. The retrial began on April 17, 2026.
During the retrial, evidence was presented to the court that Samuel Corner struck Police Constable Aaron Buxton twice with his sledgehammer before walking over to Sergeant Kate Evans, who was on all fours, facing away from him, attempting to arrest Zoe Rogers. Prosecutor Deanna Heer stated, "He raised his sledgehammer over his head and brought it down forcefully over her back. Having hit her once, he raised it again and hit her with it a second time. She screamed in pain. She was immediately terrified that her spine had been damaged and when she tried, she was unable to get up." The injuries to Sergeant Kate Evans kept her from work for three months. She has been confined to restricted duties since returning to work.
Sergeant Evans testified that Corner showed "no sign of shock or regret" after striking her with the sledgehammer. Evans continued, "The emotional impact of this incident has been profound and ongoing. I experience disturbed sleep, often waking in a panicked state or after distressing dreams." Evans revealed to the jury that she was forced to give up her rank of sergeant, and she is still receiving medical treatment two years later. Evans revealed she has received abusive messages since the raid, accusing her of "working for the Zionist occupation of Britain."
Prosecutor Deanna Heer told the court that documents were discovered on an encrypted website belonging to Palestine Action. One of those documents stated the purpose of the raid on ESUK was to "Shut Elbit Down. This is our primary objective as Palestine Action. We can do that by sticking together and ensuring its destruction with our brains and muscle." Another document stated that if security guards got in their way, they should continue, "louder, angrier and more determined."
On May 5, 2026, the jury found Samuel Corner, Charlotte Head, Leona Kameo, and Fatema Rajwani guilty of criminal damage. Corner was also found guilty of grievous bodily harm, but without intent. Jordon Devlin and Zoe Rogers were found not guilty. Sentencing was scheduled for Friday, June 12.
Four Palestine Action activists jailed over £1.2m factory raidhttps://t.co/D6HMzZaqr9
— ITV News (@itvnews) June 12, 2026
At the sentencing hearing, Prosecutor Heer argued for a terrorist connection to be applied. Heer informed the judge that Palestine Action's main goal was to influence the UK and Israeli governments. She encouraged the judge to consider the "ideology" of Palestine Action and its "ultimate cause" to "liberate Palestine from Israel."
Samuel Corner's defense attorney, Tom Wainwright, told the judge that "Redefining direct action protest as terrorism would be crossing a Rubicon." Charlotte Head's defense attorney, Rajiv Menon, argued that a terrorist connection ruling would be "dramatic and draconian" and would affect the defendants for the rest of their lives. Menon claimed a terrorist connection was an "invitation to chilling and creeping authoritarianism that undermines the very democratic fabric of our society."
Justice Jeremy Johnson of the Woolwich Crown Court in South East London agreed with the prosecution and applied a 'terrorist connection' enhancement to all four Palestine Action members. "I am bound by the legislation to find that the offense in each case has a terrorism connection," stated Johnson.
Justice Johnson cited the "smashing of a disabled toilet" and the spraying of paint on the walls as evidence that Palestine Action's goals went beyond the destruction of military assets. Johnson said, "The action was designed to influence the UK government and also to intimidate a section of the public, and was for the purpose of advancing an ideological or political cause."
Justice Johnson told Corner he had used "extreme and gratuitous force against a vulnerable police officer acting in the course of her duties." Samuel Corner, who is a former Oxford student, was sentenced to seven years and eight months. Charlotte Head was sentenced to six years in prison and suspended from driving for four years. Head drove the armor-plated van through the gates of ESUK. (It is unclear if the driving ban starts after she is released or ticks away while she is sitting in prison.) Leona Kameo was sentenced to six years, and Fatema Rajwani five years and eight months. All four members of Palestine Action will receive an automatic extra year on license (parole) after their release. They will all be subject to terrorist notification requirements for the next 15 years.
On June 15, the Court of Appeal (Civil Division) in London ruled that the Home Secretary is legally allowed to list Palestine Action as a terrorist group under Section 3 of the Terrorism Act 2000. This overturned the Divisional Court's ruling from last February.
In its ruling, the Court of Appeal stated:
It is, nonetheless, a fundamental mistake to overlook the fact that Palestine Action overtly promotes unlawful violence amounting to terrorism. It is not, as it claims, a direct action civil disobedience protest group like the suffragettes operating transparently in the open. It is a covert organization that operates using secret cells to avoid the detection and prosecution of those using violence to destroy the property of third parties. Palestine Action's activities have caused injury as well as property damage.
The ruling continued:
At no stage, has Palestine Action suggested that its terrorist activities were either a mistake or an aberration. Rather, Palestine Action has lauded those who took part. The contents of the Underground Manual provide good evidence of Palestine Action's continuing intention to promote the use of violence regardless of the risk that this will result in serious damage to property or serious violence against members of the public.
The Crown Prosecution Service intends to prosecute the remaining nineteen members of Palestine Action in the near future.
Editor's Note: Do you enjoy RedState's conservative reporting that takes on the radical Left and woke media? Support our work so that we can continue to bring you the truth.
Join RedState VIP and use promo code FIGHT to receive 60% off your membership.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member