One of the co-founders of Extinction Rebellion has been detained for four weeks before a weekend of planned action.
Roger Hallam, 54, of Wandsworth in south-west London, was among five people arrested on Monday and charged with conspiracy to cause criminal damage.
The five appeared at Highbury Corner magistrates court on Tuesday and were remanded into custody until their next court appearance, at Wood Green crown court on 22 September, the Metropolitan police said.
The others are Diana Warner, 61, from Bristol; Ferhat Ulusu, 42, of Hackney, east London; Holly Brentall, 28, of Haringey, north London; and Steven Nunn, 56, of Telford. An Extinction Rebellion spokeswoman said all five bar Nunn were definitely connected to the group.
Extinction Rebellion protests are planned at various locations across the country this weekend before an “uprising” in London next week.
The group, which was formed in 2017, came to prominence for a series of bridge-blocking protests in 2018 and a two-week blockade of key roads in central London in April 2019 in which thousands of protesters were arrested.
Extinction Rebellion is demanding that the government declare a climate and ecological emergency, act to reach net zero emissions by 2025, and create and follow the guidance of a citizens’ assembly.
Hallam withdrew from his formal positions within Extinction Rebellion this year and set up a new direct-action organisation, Beyond Politics.
