Police inexperienced but supposedly wary of fanning the flames of Seattle-style unrest attempted to force protestors apart with batons and brought in horses to storm the blockade lines. There were injuries on both sides including two New Zealand Greens MPs and some protestors were hospitalised. Despite all this the blockades were successfully maintained, mounting a serious obstacle to the conference. Everyone s favourite billionaire Bill Gates sadly had to cancel two of his speeches outside the conference including one to local schoolchildren. The SHAC offices were raided in August, all computers were seized and all four held for ten days before being charged with conspiracy to cause GBH, conspiracy to cause incitement, conspiracy to cause harassment and conspiracy to endanger road users.
All charges carry seven years in prison.
Another women who used a tripod to block the A1 is still seriously ill in hospital after a motorcyclist tied a rope to the tripod and drove off. Despite this the campaign to close Huntingdon is still really strong. Meet 1pm Preston Park, Brighton. And had a great time. As the festival program put it, the Free the Spirit Festival is designed to be an antidote to babylon clubs and money-motivated events .