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  "path": "/news/palestine-action-activist-sentence-police-officer-hit-sledgehammer-woolwich-crown-court",
  "publishedAt": "2026-06-12T17:53:44.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.gbnews.com",
  "tags": [
    "Police arrest 107 protesters as hundreds gather outside court over Palestine Action sentencing",
    "Helen Mirren breaks silence after being called ‘Zionist b**** by pro-Palestine activist on street",
    "Controversial Oxford Union president said Hamas would be 'lauded as heroes'",
    "The GB News Editorial Charter"
  ],
  "textContent": "\n\n\nA Palestine Action activist who hit a police officer with a sledgehammer has been sentenced to seven years and eight months in prison.\n\nSamuel Corner, 23, previously denied both charges of grievous bodily harm with intent and criminal damage after carrying out a raid at an Israel-based defence firm in Bristol on August 6 2024.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nCorner, a former Oxford student, hit officer Kate Evans twice on the back with a seven pound sledgehammer, fracturing her spine.\n\nMr Justice Johnson told the activist he had used \"extreme and gratuitous force against a vulnerable police officer acting in the course of her duties\".\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nTRENDING\n\nStories\n\nVideos\n\nYour Say\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nEarlier today, the judge ruled a group of Palestine Action activists caused £1.2million of damage at Elbit Systems' factory, all of whom have been thrown behind bars for a total of 22 years.\n\nDonning red boilersuits, the group used an old prison van to break into the estate and then used sledgehammers and crowbars to smash defence equipment, including drones.\n\nCharlotte Head, Leona Kamio and Fatema Rajwani were found guilty of criminal damage last month after raiding the compound.\n\nHead, who drove the van into the compound, was jailed for five years, while Kamio was given a five-year-long sentence. Rajwani has been thrown behind bars for four years and eight months.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThe judge said the activists had \"decided to take matters into (their) own hands\" after accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza.\n\nThe lawyer added that the group was \"reckless\" about those who could be injured. He stressed that two activists had posted the raid online in a bid to \"glorify criminality and vigilantism\".\n\nDuring the sentencing, raucous supporters of the defendants jeered and banged on the door to the court. Rajwani and Head were sobbing as the judge served justice.\n\nEarlier today, more than 100 pro-Palestine activists were arrested outside the court on suspicion of supporting a proscribed terror group.\n\n### LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:\n\n\n\n\n  * Police arrest 107 protesters as hundreds gather outside court over Palestine Action sentencing\n  * Helen Mirren breaks silence after being called ‘Zionist b**** by pro-Palestine activist on street\n  * Controversial Oxford Union president said Hamas would be 'lauded as heroes'\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThe judge continued: \"Each defendant agreed to take part in high level actions, and did so with the shared aim of shutting down Elbit and ending what they regarded as British complicity in Israeli war crimes.”\n\n\"I’m satisfied the action was designed to influence the UK Government and also to intimidate a section of the public, and was for the purpose of advancing an ideological or political cause.\"\n\nPc Evans read her impact statement this morning, telling the court that she had to give up her rank of sergeant following the traumatic aftermath of the attack.\n\nTwo years on, she is still receiving treatment for the trauma inflicted on her body.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nShe told the court: \"The emotional impact of this incident has been profound and ongoing. I experience disturbed sleep, often waking in a panicked state or after distressing dreams.\"\n\nThe officer explained that she had been trolled online, receiving hate mail online. She was accused of \"working for the Zionist occupation of Britain\".\n\nMr Johnson previously announced that he would sentence the group today since the damage was carried out with a \"terrorist connection\".\n\n\nHe added that all defendants were \"well aware of the underlying sentiment and aims and strategies of Palestine Action\".\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n**Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter**",
  "title": "Palestine Action activist who hit police officer with sledgehammer sentenced to seven years in prison"
}