Pro-Palestine activist ‘believed she had lawful excuse’ to damage property

Six people are on trial accused of criminal damage at the Elbit Systems site near Bristol

Palestine Action activist Charlotte Head

A Palestine Action activist has told a court she believed she had a “lawful excuse” to damage property belonging to an Israel-based defence firm during a raid.

Charlotte Head, Samuel Corner, Leona Kamio, Fatema Rajwani, Zoe Rogers and Jordan Devlin are charged with criminal damage after the incident at the Elbit Systems site near Bristol on August 6, 2024.

The six defendants are accused of breaking into the factory before destroying property and clashing with security guards and police.

At Woolwich Crown Court on Tuesday, Head, 30, said the group targeted Elbit because they are Israel’s “largest weapon manufacturer”, adding that the action was not “a random act”.

Jurors heard that she picked up a prison van from Manchester in the days before the incident and on August 4 she drove it to Bristol, where she met the other participants.

Rajiv Menon KC, representing Head, asked the defendant what the main objective of the action was.

She replied: “To go in and destroy as many of the weapons as possible and to try and shut the site down.”

Asked if there were any other objectives, she said: “To try and get information on anybody that might be partnering with Elbit, like there are other companies that work with them and help them to function as the entity they are.”

Asked by Mr Menon KC if she had intentionally damaged property belonging to Elbit on the date of the incident, the defendant said: “Yes, but we believed we had a lawful excuse to do so.”

Jurors were shown footage of a security guard shouting at Head and another individual during the raid.

She told the court she was “immediately terrified of what this man would do to us”.

The court heard information about Head including details of her previous humanitarian work at a refugee camp in Calais, France.

She told the court that “most of my work has ended up being anti-war and anti-violence”, adding that she has felt it is her “responsibility” to try to reduce “suffering” in the world.

At the time of the incident in August 2024, Head was working as a housing advocate for a charity that supports survivors of domestic abuse, she told jurors.

Jurors were previously told that the defendants allegedly crashed into shutters outside the factory in a prison van, which was driven by Head and used “as a battering ram”.

Once inside, they used sledgehammers and crowbars to destroy computers, drones and other equipment, and sprayed the walls and floor with red paint using fire extinguishers, the court heard.

Head, Corner, 23, Kamio, 30, Rajwani, 21, Rogers, 22, and Devlin, 31, deny criminal damage.

Corner faces a further charge of causing grievous bodily harm with intent to Police Sergeant Kate Evans, which he denies.

The trial continues.