The British authorities arrested a furious driver as Just Stop Oil protesters brought three major bridges in London to a complete standstill on Tuesday. The man, dressed in orange overalls, can be seen in a viral video shoving a protester into a police officer on Blackfriars Bridge, per the Evening Standard.
Right after the angry driver shoved the protester, two police officers quickly grabbed the man and pushed him up against a truck, finally putting him in handcuffs. However, the driver of the truck stepped out of the vehicle, and yelled at the officers: “You shut up, get off my truck.”
The police told the man who assaulted the protester to place his hands behind his back, as they apprehended him on suspicion of common assault. During the struggling, one of the officers told me that that he was “f*cking assaulting people.”
However, there were those who came to the man’s defense, with one telling the police to give the guy a break, that “he’s just trying to get to work.” It was later reported that the man was not arrested, per the report.
Just Stop Oil also published a statement, saying: “Tensions have been high this morning as the marches cause major delays for commuters.”
“One man threw a supporter onto the ground and was subsequently arrested on Blackfriars Bridge.”
“A motorcyclist attempted to drive through the same procession, before police intervened.”
“Elsewhere there were a number of altercations as members of the public snatched banners and confronted Just Stop Oil supporters.”
One activist appeared to justify the overt attempt to disrupt people’s daily life by saying that “society needs to wake up to the ongoing destruction of our home.”
“These criminal politicians have us on the highway to climate hell with their foot on the accelerator. The UK has a proud history of civil resistance and bringing about world-wide change.”
However, it is unclear how disrupting average citizens is going to change the minds of those in positions of political power who can enact the change that these protesters are apparently lobbying for. It seems that if these protesters wanted to send a message directly to Parliament, they would engage with the members directly.
