The police response to Extinction Rebellion was sadly not an aberration | Simon Childs

After the autumn clampdown, fighting for the right to protest has become a vital part of the collective fight for survivalIn October, as the autumn wave of Extinction Rebellion (XR) activists blocked roads and occupied public space to try to force the government to act on the climate emergency, rightwing commentators bemoaned the intolerable inconvenience to the public, while Boris Johnson demanded the police "use the full force of the law" against the "crusties".The police response was already well in motion: even the weekend before the first "hemp-smelling bivouac" had been erected, police had raided a building where XR were storing supplies, confiscated equipment and arrested 10 people on suspicion of conspiracy to cause public nuisance. This alarming, if not unexpected, pre-emptive action was to set the tone for the rest of the demonstrations. Continue reading...