He has been charged with ‘criminal damage’ with racial aggravating circumstances.

On Friday, London’s Metropolitan Police arrested a 38-year-old man for spray-painting a statue of former Prime Minister Winston Churchill with slogans such as “Free Palestine” and “Stop the genocide.”

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The graffiti included a “Globalize the Intifada” slogan, which is seen as an international call to action for the Palestinian cause but is considered “antisemitic” by the Jewish community.

The man who painted the statue remains in custody, charged with criminal damage with racial aggravating circumstances. Officers arrested him at 4:00 a.m. and cordoned off the area to clean the sculpture.

In December 2025, after the attacks in the UK and Australia during Jewish celebrations, police in London and Manchester had announced they would arrest those inciting an ‘intifada,’ while the British government promised greater protection for the Jewish community.

The statue of Churchill, Prime Minister from 1940-1945 and 1951-1955, has been vandalized before. In 2020, it was defaced during Black Lives Matter protests following the death of George Floyd in the United States.

That same year, an Extinction Rebellion activist was fined for writing “racist” on the pedestal during a climate protest. This led to the statue of Churchill having to be protected and covered with metal planks.

The monument was created by Ivor Roberts-Jones and unveiled in 1973 by Clementine Churchill. It is one of twelve statues of statesmen in London’s Parliament Square.

teleSUR: JP

Source: EFE

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