Teen accused of spray-painting Winston Churchill statue with the words ‘is a racist’ is ‘threatened’

A teenager who admitted spray-painting a statue of Winston Churchill with the words ‘is a racist’ was today fined more than £1,500.

Benjamin Clark, 18, defaced the Westminster monument to Britain’s wartime Prime Minister with bright yellow spray paint during an Extinction Rebellion protest on September 10. 

The student was today escorted from Westminster Magistrates Court by police after he was threatened outside the courthouse by men wearing Union Jack scarves and face masks.  

Onlookers had shouted ‘he should hang’ at Clark as he arrived for the hearing with his Baptist pastor father Andrew this morning.

They had left the scene by the time the case had been dealt with. 

Clark used chalk paint to write the words on the base of the Grade-II listed statue outside the Houses of Parliament on September 10, magistrates were told.

Benjamin Clark (pictured outside court), 18, defaced the Westminster monument to Britain’s wartime Prime Minister with bright yellow spray paint during an Extinction Rebellion protest on September 10 

A judge told Clark that he had ’caused great offence’ and ‘provoked a strong reaction’ but his case was firmly about criminal damage.

Clark, from Hertford, Hertfordshire, sat in the dock wearing a light blue shirt, green tie, and dark blue suit and did not speak except to confirm his identity and enter a guilty plea.   

The court heard how the process of cleaning the statue cost £1,642 – however Clark denied that he caused all the damage.

Sentencing him, District Judge Tan Ikram said: ‘You were part of an Extinction Rebellion protest, as a result of which you came into possession of some yellow chalk paint which you then sprayed on the base of the statue.

‘You’ve caused great offence it appears to a lot of people and I’m told it has provoked a very strong reaction.

‘The reality is that is part of the consequence of your actions – I have heard that your father has head threatening communications in relation to your behaviour and at court today there are some people who are very upset.’ 

Clark was arrested after the plinth of a monument to Winston Churchill in Parliament Square, London was defaced in September with yellow graffiti including the words 'is a racist'

 Clark was arrested after the plinth of a monument to Winston Churchill in Parliament Square, London was defaced in September with yellow graffiti including the words ‘is a racist’

The teenager was one of at least 680 people arrested in connection with 10 days of Extinction Rebellion protests in London. Pictured: The statue in London on September 10

The teenager was one of at least 680 people arrested in connection with 10 days of Extinction Rebellion protests in London. Pictured: The statue in London on September 10

Clark was ordered to pay a £200 fine, along with £1,200 compensation as well as £85 in costs and a £34 victim surcharge. 

The teenager’s lawyer, Laura O’Brien, said that her client was an ‘intelligent’ maths and history student who had acted impulsively,

But she feared the case would become more about the politics of Winston Churchill.

She said: ‘This case comes in the context of the toppling of the Edward Colton statue. 

‘It is correct to say that these words are not capable in and of themselves of causing offence.

‘What I can say is that Mr Clark was there as part of the Extinction Rebellion protest, he did not attend the scene with spray paint and did not attend with intent to cause damage to the statue.

‘Someone else in the crowd had paint and he took the opportunity.’ 

The student was today escorted from Westminster Magistrates Court by police after he was threatened outside the courthouse by men wearing Union Jack scarves and face masks. Pictured: Clark with his father Andrew

The student was today escorted from Westminster Magistrates Court by police after he was threatened outside the courthouse by men wearing Union Jack scarves and face masks. Pictured: Clark with his father Andrew

Pictured: Clark

Pictured: Clark's father, Baptist pastor and 'trained spiritual director' Andrew Clark

Onlookers had shouted ‘he should hang’ at Clark (left today) as he arrived for the hearing with his Baptist pastor father Andrew (right) this morning

She continued: ‘This case should not be about Mr Clark offending the history of this country. We are here to deal with a small amount of paint on a statue.’

The lawyer added that Clark has been ‘involved in environmental activism for several years’.   

‘He was there in a group of people communicating his strongly held feelings about the future of this planet,’ she said.

The solicitor also asked the court to make an order allowing him not to publicly reveal his because he had received threats at his home and his father’s place of work.

She said: ‘There were threats sent to both his home address and the workplace of his father.

‘There are people outside who were shouting at Mr Clark and his father not the way to court. People walking around wearing Union Jacks and can be easily identified as part of this group.

‘One of the threats included that he should hang. This is really unpleasant and there is a very real reason to think that these are legitimate threats.’ 

Clark was arrested after the plinth of the monument to the former prime minister in Parliament Square, London was defaced in September with yellow graffiti including the words ‘is a racist’. 

The teenager was one of at least 680 people arrested in connection with 10 days of Extinction Rebellion protests in London.

Others were held on suspicion of obstructing the highway and breaching conditions of protest set under the Public Order Act when the actions began on September 1.   

Last month, Metropolitan Police commander Jane Connors described the protests as a ‘significant challenge’ during a ‘public health crisis’.

‘The public have a right to protest, but they do not have a right to cause disruption to the communities and businesses across London. That is why we took swift action to make a number of arrests,’ she said.

‘This has been a large policing operation and we will continue to investigate those who we suspect to have committed offences, so the number of arrests is likely to rise.’