Two men who blocked the entrance to the M32 as part of an Extinction Rebellion protest in Bristol last summer have been sentenced at Bristol Magistrates' Court.
One man from Exeter and a second man from Chichester were both found guilty of obstructing the free passage of a highway - namely the junction of Temple Way and Newfoundland Road - on July 17 last year.
James Brown and Edward Lawrence Surridge both denied they had committed any crimes. But on January 15, almost six months after Bristol was brought to a standstill by protesters, both men were found guilty by Bristol Magistrates.
Previously, Bristol Live reported the judge entered a not guilty plea for 55-year-old Brown after he said: “I can’t participate because I have lost confidence in the criminal justice system.”
Surridge, previously said he pleaded not guilty based on “the defence of necessity and the prevention of a greater crime, human rights and freedom of expression”.
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Brown, of Magdalen Road in Exeter, was discharged conditionally for 12 months. He was also told to pay £21 to victim services and £300 in costs to the CPS.
Surridge, 53 and of Tangmere Road in Chichester, West Sussex, was fined £100, told to pay £32 to victim services and instructed to pay £300 to the CPS.
Fourteen other Extinction Rebellion bathtub protesters were sentenced back in September 2019. You can read the full story here.
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