A Brighton activist accused of planning to damage a factory in an anti-Israel protest was caught by police driving a van containing sledgehammers, smoke bombs and fire extinguishers adapted to spray red paint, a court heard today.
Tony Greenstein, 69, hired a van at Choices Vehicle Rentals in Brighton and drove it all the way to Walsall in the West Midlands to pick up five other Palestine Action protestors, a jury at Wolverhampton Crown Court was told.
They donned boiler suits and the van was loaded up with smoke bombs, ladders, large containers filled with red paint, two sledge hammers, cans of spray paint, superglue, a crowbar and the adapted fire extinguishers.
They also brought Palestinian flags and stencils of anti-Israel slogans.
But at about 3am the next morning, on March 9, 2021, police stopped the van while it was en route to UAV Engines, a subsidiary of Israeli arms company Elbit Systems which manufactures drones in nearby Shenstone.
Prosecuting, Deborah Gould said: “The crown’s case is that the defendants intended to occupy UAV’s factory premises in Shenstone and damage those premises by a number of means including using fire extinguishers which had been adapted to contain red paint, pouring paint over the buildings and climbing onto, and occupying the roofs of those premises and causing damage to any accessible areas like skylights and windows.
“The result would that the normal business of the factory would be severely disrupted, staff unable to enter and, for a period of time at least, the operations of the business would be closed down.
“The Crown’s case is that the defendants were part of a joint plan to have custody, of, or control over, the items in the van, intending that those items would be used to damage or destroy property, namely the premises of UAV, without lawful excuse.”
She added: “The Crown asks why, if these six people were not involved in criminal activity, if their intention was to be nothing more than standing outside a property and waving a flag?
“Why was it necessary to have a house in the area, why did they travel up late at night and set off in the van before it was even light?
“Why, among the articles in the van, the kit assembled and being transported to the factory was there sledge hammers, a crowbar, stencils and gallons of paint, including some in specially adapted fire extinguishers? ”
Greenstein and four other defendants are charged with possessing an article with the intent to destroy property. All deny the charge.
The others are Ibrahim Samadi from Cambridge, Alex Waters of no fixed abode, Helen Caney of Reading and Jeremy Parker from London.
The sixth occupant of the van, Bethany Clowackin of no fixed abode, has already pleaded guilty and will be sentenced after the conclusion of this trial.
The jury was told Parker, whose mother lives in Walsall, used the name Bob Palmer to order the red boilersuits, which were delivered to his mum’s house.
An Airbnb was also booked in the town under the name of Huda Ammori, the joint founder of Palestine Action, a small protest group whose stated aim is to shut down Elbit Systems in the UK.
On the day, text messages to the Airbnb’s owner said someone called Bob would be picking up the keys – keys which were later found in Parker’s possession.
After the six were arrested, packaging for the boiler suits was found in the Airbnb – where the beds appeared not to have been slept in.
When police stopped the van, Greenstein told officers he was just going for a drive.
But after he was released, he posted on his website that he was arrested: “whilst driving a van to Elbit Systems Shenstone factory.
“We were intent on redecorating the premises of Elbit in the blood red colour of their victims.”
The words appeared under the headline: “Sorry for the Temporary Interlude but I was a Guest of Her Majesty as the Police Scrambled to Protect Elbit’s Factories of Death from Redecoration”.
Miss Gould said: “The Crown says that you could not have clearer evidence of Mr Greenstein’s involvement in the same shared plan than what he told you himself.
“He hired the vehicle, drove it to the West Midlands, collected people and articles and commenced the final leg of the journey towards the factory of UAV.”
After the opening, the jury was sent home until the trial starts again tomorrow.
Greenstein is represented by Danielle Manson, Samadi by Audrey Mogan, Caney by Margo Munro-Kerr, Parker by Owen Greenhall and Waters by Will Hanson.
