In 60 seconds: London police arrested 139 people outside the U.S. Embassy on Saturday for supporting Palestine Action, a group banned in Britain under anti-terror laws — days before the Supreme Court hears a challenge to that ban.
- 139 people were arrested Saturday outside the U.S. Embassy in London, police said.
- Most were detained for expressing support for Palestine Action, a proscribed organization.
- Many protesters were elderly people holding signs reading "I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action."
- Campaigners say more than 4,000 people have been arrested since the ban began in July 2025.
- The UK Supreme Court hears a two-day appeal against the ban starting Wednesday, November 4.
The U.S. Embassy at Nine Elms, London. Photo: Marathon, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
It started with people standing in a line holding signs — and ended with police vans. Outside the American Embassy in London on Saturday, 139 more names joined one of Britain's strangest running totals.
Here's the thing: nobody there was accused of violence — they were arrested, in most cases, for the signs they held.
What happened
On Saturday, October 31, 2026, London's Metropolitan Police arrested 139 people during a lunchtime "mass action" outside the U.S. Embassy, organized by Defend Our Juries. Hundreds had gathered to support Palestine Action, outlawed by the British government under anti-terrorism laws in July 2025.
Police began detaining people shortly after the protest started, an AFP reporter witnessed, and confirmed 139 arrests in an evening update, with further detentions expected.
Most of those taken into custody were arrested for expressing support for a proscribed organization, the Met said. Many demonstrators were elderly people with placards reading "I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action," and banners reading "We are protesters, not terrorists" and "How is trying to stop a genocide a crime?" Edinburgh saw protests the same day.
Latest verified facts
The legal backdrop turns a street protest into a mass-arrest event: under the ban, membership of Palestine Action, or expressing support for it, is a criminal offence carrying up to 14 years in prison. That is why holding a placard is enough for an arrest.
The scale has built for over a year: campaigners say more than 4,000 people have been arrested since July 2025, including Saturday's 139. Each demonstration tests the same ban, produces a new round of arrests, and keeps the issue in public view.
The British government banned Palestine Action following operations by its members against defense facilities, particularly those of Israeli defense company Elbit Systems. In August 2026, the United States also sanctioned the group as a terrorist organization — one reason a protest outside the American Embassy carries a sharper message.
Palestine Action, founded in 2020, says its aim is to stop UK military support for Israel, which it accuses of committing genocide against Palestinians — an accusation Israel strongly denies.
Read our earlier coverage: Trump called Netanyahu as the U.S. prepares new Iran strikes — and Tehran answered, for the wider U.S. posture in the region this week.
Why it matters
Strip away the politics and what remains is a hard question British courts are about to wrestle with in public: can a government criminalize expressing support for a group, and arrest elderly people holding placards, without gutting the right to protest?
The group's co-founder, Huda Ammori, has challenged the ban, arguing it was "disproportionate" and infringed human rights. The Court of Appeal ruled for the government in June; now the Supreme Court hears the challenge in a two-day hearing starting Wednesday, November 4.
That hearing is why Saturday's timing matters: the protest was staged days before the appeal to put the human face of the ban — elderly demonstrators, handwritten signs, mass arrests — before the public just as judges prepare to rule.
Impact on the USA and the world
For American readers, the location is the message: this wasn't outside Parliament, but outside the U.S. Embassy, aimed at Washington's August 2026 sanctions on Palestine Action. The demonstrators were telling two governments at once that they reject both bans.
The case echoes far beyond Britain. Governments in Europe and the United States are all drawing the same line between security laws and protest rights, and Britain's outright ban — followed by thousands of arrests — is the most aggressive version of it anywhere in the democratic world. Whatever the court decides will be cited on both sides.
And the numbers keep the story alive: more than 4,000 arrests since July 2025 is a pattern, and patterns eventually force political answers, not just legal ones.
What happens next
Wednesday, November 4, is the date to watch: the Supreme Court's two-day hearing tests whether the ban survives its strongest legal challenge yet. Upholding it would entrench the current approach — and likely guarantee more Saturday protests and arrests. Striking it down would unwind one of the most contested uses of anti-terror law in modern Britain.
Until then, expect the cycle to continue: another protest, another round of arrests, another tally added to the 4,000 — until a court, or a government, changes the rules.
Our take: whatever you think of Palestine Action, arresting 139 people in an afternoon for holding placards raises a question — and on Wednesday, Britain's highest court must answer it.
Frequently asked questions
Why were 139 people arrested in London on Saturday? London police said most were arrested for expressing support for Palestine Action, a group banned in the UK under anti-terror laws, during a protest outside the U.S. Embassy.
What is Palestine Action? A direct-action group founded in 2020 that says it aims to stop UK military support for Israel. The British government banned it in July 2025 after operations by its members against defense facilities, including those of Elbit Systems.
What happens at the Supreme Court on November 4? The court begins a two-day hearing on a legal challenge to the ban, brought by the group's co-founder Huda Ammori, who argues the ban is disproportionate and infringes human rights.
How many people have been arrested since the ban? Campaigners say more than 4,000 people have been arrested since July 2025 for protesting against or defying the ban, including Saturday's 139.
Sources
- Associated Press (via ETV Bharat and New Age) — London police arrest 139 at protest supporting Palestine Action, November 1, 2026
- Malay Mail (AFP) — "'We are protesters, not terrorists': 139 arrested at London rally over Palestine Action ban," November 1, 2026
- Jerusalem Post — "Over 130 pro-Palestinian protesters arrested outside US Embassy in London," November 1, 2026
- TBS News — London police arrest 139 protesters outside US Embassy over support for banned pro-Palestine group, November 1, 2026