Four Activists Convicted of Criminal Damage After Breaking into Elbit Systems Factory in 2024

Four Palestine Action activists were convicted of criminal damage at Woolwich Crown Court after raiding the UK site of Elbit Systems, an Israel-based defense firm, on August 6, 2024. Charlotte Head, 30, Samuel Corner, 23, Leona Kamio, 30, and Fatema Rajwani, 21, broke into the factory near Bristol in the early hours, wearing red boilersuits and using a decommissioned prison van as a battering ram to crash through security shutters.

The group then destroyed property inside, damaging computers, drones, and other equipment with sledgehammers and crowbars, while spraying red paint across walls and floors using fire extinguishers.

The raid caused an estimated £1 million in damage, according to testimony at Woolwich Crown Court. Activists clashed with security guards and police during the incident, leading to additional charges. Samuel Corner was found guilty of inflicting grievous bodily harm by a majority of 11 to one after striking Sgt Kate Evans twice with a sledgehammer, fracturing her spine, though he was cleared of grievous bodily harm with intent.

Zoe Rogers, 22, and Jordan Devlin, 31, were found not guilty of criminal damage in the same trial. The jury deliberated for more than 14 hours before reaching verdicts in this retrial, which followed a previous jury's failure to reach a verdict after more than 36 hours of deliberation. In the first trial, all six activists were acquitted of aggravated burglary.

Corner told the court he 'would never want to seriously hurt anyone' and denied any plan to use violence against people, explaining that he acted after hearing a fellow activist screaming and believing they were being hurt by security guards. Prosecutor Deanna Heer KC stated: 'Inside the warehouse, they set about destroying as much property as they could.

They used crowbars and hammers to damage computers, equipment, drones and other products Elbit had manufactured.

The group aimed to destroy what they believed were combat drones and military equipment for use by the Israeli Defence Forces in Gaza, though no evidence was presented in the case about the factory's production. Charlotte Head drove the prison van during the break-in, which occurred before Palestine Action was proscribed by the government on 5 July 2025.

Elbit Systems UK is a UK-registered company that manufactures defense technology, with its parent company based in Israel.

The defendants held hands in the dock as verdicts were read out, with tears in the public gallery from supporters and family members. In the final stages of the trial, all defendants except Corner addressed the jury directly, standing by their actions and urging acquittal on grounds that the crime was justified.

Rogers said: 'I can say with absolute certainty that this is the best thing I have ever done.

There is a good chance that because of our actions that night, innocent lives were saved. The activists had previously denied any intention to use violence, telling jurors the sledgehammers were not meant to injure security staff. Head, Corner, Kamio, and Rajwani were denied bail and remanded in custody ahead of sentencing on 12 June.

Head's defense lawyer, Rajiv Menon KC, faces contempt of court proceedings for allegedly misleading the jury and defying orders in the first trial. Mr Justice Johnson set out grounds for contempt in a ruling on 12 January, with a hearing at the Court of Appeal scheduled for 15 June.