Christian fined over climate change protest

Ruth (centre) with other campaigners

A Christian woman who took part in a climate change protest has been found guilty of knowingly failing to comply with Section 14 of the Public Order Act 1986. Yesterday in court she was given a conditional discharge and ordered to pay £640 in costs.

Christian Climate Action member, Ruth Jarman (56) of Hampshire, pleaded not guilty at Hendon Magistrates court on Monday 16 September. She said she was a Conscientious Protector trying to prevent a crime against humanity and creation by drawing attention to the climate emergency we face.

Ruth was one of more than 1100 people arrested during the Extinction Rebellion protests in London in April 2019 which brought areas of central London to a standstill. She was arrested after she refused to move from the ground at Oxford Circus on 18th April 2019.

Speaking after the trial, Ruth, who attends her local evangelical Church of England parish, said: "For two decades, my campaigning on climate has been ignored. Two weeks on the streets of London in April could not be ignored. Opinion polls showed concern about the environment at the highest levels on record and the Shadow Chancellor stated that the Extinction Rebellion led directly to Parliament's declaration of an environment and climate emergency. The leniency of my sentence shows the level of sympathy for our cause. The Rebellion is working!"

"There's a new book called 'There's no planet B', by Mike Berners-Lee. In it, he suggests one of the key requirements for a safe future is that we all take our consciences to work."

Ruth was supported outside and inside court by members of Christian Climate Action, a community of Christians supporting each other in acts of non-violent direct action and public witness, as a way of following Jesus Christ in the face of climate breakdown.

Together with other faith groups, Christian Climate Action plans to create a 'Bridge of Faith' in central London during October, as part of another Extinction Rebellion protest designed to bring central London to a standstill. Round the clock prayer and worship will take place on a London bridge, and people of all and no faiths are invited to join in.

For more information see: https://christianclimateaction.org/join-us-on-the-faith-bridge-this-october/