An Extinction Rebellion protester was cleared of criminal liability for defacing a council building after successfully arguing that she was acting to defend her property.
Angela Ditchfield was arrested after spray-painting two "XR" symbols onto the headquarters of the Cambridgeshire County Council during a protest in December 2018. She argued that she had a legal excuse to commit vandalism because she believed climate disaster posed an imminent threat to her property. According to news reports, on November 1, 2019 she was found not guilty at Cambridge Magistrates' Court, which found that she was acting to protect land and homes.
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- Trial of Angela Ditchfield
Trial of Angela Ditchfield
About this case
Filing year
2018
Status
Decided
Geography
Court/admin entity
Cambridge Magistrates' CourtUnited Kingdom → England and Wales → Magistrates Court
Case category
Suits against corporations, individuals (Global) → Protesters (Global)
Principal law
United Kingdom → Criminal Code
At issue
Whether climate protester could assert necessity defense to escape liability for vandalism.
Topics
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Documents
Filing Date
Document
Type
Topics 
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Summary
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Group
Topics
Risk
Impacted group
Economic sector