Pro-Palestine protester acquitted of damaging Churchill statue in London

San Giorgi entered Parliament Square before 4 a.m. on February 27, carrying spray-paint cans and a ladder, and covered the Winston Churchill statue with red slogans, including “Stop the Genocide” and “Free Palestine”. He claimed the paint could be washed off and that his protest was aimed at Sir Keir Starmer and the UK’s policy on Gaza. During the trial he told the jury he was proud to voice injustice and that the outcome of the case mattered little to him.

The prosecution alleged the damage exceeded £7,000, while the defence maintained no lasting harm was done. A heritage warden for the Greater London Authority reported the act, prompting police involvement, and a Downing Street official called the defacing “completely abhorrent”. The jury ultimately acquitted San Giorgi of criminal damage.