LONDON (AP) — Four pro-Palestinian protesters were held in custody Thursday after their first appearance in a London court on charges they damaged two Royal Air Force planes with red paint and crowbars.
The charges came after the group Palestine Action said its members entered the RAF base in Brize Norton on June 20 and spray painted the engines of two Voyager jets used for air-to-air refueling. They also damaged the jets with crowbars, according to the group, which released video footage of the incident.
The vandalism caused about 7 million pounds ($9.5 million) of damage, police said.
The four, all between the ages of 22 and 35, are charged with conspiracy to commit criminal damage and conspiracy to enter a prohibited place for purposes prejudicial to the interests of the U.K., counterterror police said in a statement. The Crown Prosecution Service will argue that the offenses have a “terrorist connection,” police said.
The group did not enter pleas in Westminster Magistrates’ Court. They were scheduled to appear July 18 at the Central Criminal Court.
Palestine Action has claimed responsibility for a series of incidents targeting Israeli defense contractors in the U.K. and other sites linked to the war in Gaza.
Following the incident at RAF Brize Norton, the government introduced legislation to ban Palestine Action as a terrorist organization.
The measure, which would make it a criminal offense punishable by up to 14 years in prison for belonging to or supporting the group, is set to become law after the House of Lords passed the legislation on Thursday.
However, the group is going to court Friday to try to block the law from taking effect.
Palestine Action said its protests are designed to end international support for Israel’s war in Gaza.
Planes from Brize Norton, 70 miles (112 kilometers) northwest of London, regularly fly to RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, Britain’s main air base for operations in the Middle East.
Demonstrators hold up a banner during a protest by Palestine Action group in London, Monday, June 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)
FILE - A British Royal Airforce Voyager aircraft carrying members of the British armed forces 16 Air Assault Brigade arrives at Brize Norton, England, Saturday, Aug. 28, 2021. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, Pool, File)
PARIS (AP) — A Paris court is to rule on Monday in a case involving 10 people accused of cyberbullying French first lady Brigitte Macron by spreading false online claims about her gender and sexuality, allegations her daughter said damaged her health and family life.
The defendants, eight men and two women aged 41 to 60, are accused of posting “numerous malicious comments” falsely claiming that President Emmanuel Macron ’s wife was born a man and linking the 24-year age gap with her husband to pedophilia. Some of the posts were viewed tens of thousands of times.
Brigitte Macron did not attend the two-day trial in October.
Her daughter, Tiphaine Auzière, testified about what she described as the “deterioration” of her mother’s life since the online harassment intensified. “She cannot ignore the horrible things said about her,” Auzière told the court. She said the impact has extended to the entire family, including Macron’s grandchildren.
Defendant Delphine Jegousse, 51, who is known as Amandine Roy and describes herself as a medium and an author, is considered as having played a major role in spreading the rumor after she released a four-hour video on her YouTube channel in 2021.
The X account of Aurélien Poirson-Atlan, 41, known as Zoé Sagan on social media, was suspended in 2024 after his name was cited in several judicial investigations.
Other defendants include an elected official, a teacher and a computer scientist. Several told the court their comments were intended as humor or satire and said they did not understand why they were being prosecuted. They face up to two years in prison if convicted.
The case follows years of conspiracy theories falsely alleging that Brigitte Macron was born under the name Jean-Michel Trogneux, which is actually the name of her brother. The Macrons have also filed a defamation suit in the United States against conservative influencer Candace Owens.
The Macrons, who have been married since 2007, first met at the high school where he was a student and she was a teacher. Brigitte Macron, 24 years her husband’s senior, was then called Brigitte Auzière, a married mother of three.
Emmanuel Macron, 48, has been France’s president since 2017.
FILE - French President's wife Brigitte Macron arrives ahead of the ceremony outside "La Belle Equipe" bar, Thursday Nov. 13, 2025 in Paris as part of ceremonies marking the 10th anniversary of terrorist attacks. (Ludovic Marin, Pool photo via AP, File)
