In the early hours of August 6, 2024, the usually quiet industrial district of Bristol became the stage for a dramatic and violent confrontation that would soon reverberate across the United Kingdom. Six activists from the group Palestine Action allegedly stormed the Elbit Systems UK defense facility, wielding sledgehammers and dressed in striking red jumpsuits, in what prosecutors have described as a meticulously planned break-in. The events of that morning, now the subject of a high-profile trial at Woolwich Crown Court, have cast a spotlight on the tactics of protest groups, the limits of police protection, and the ongoing debate over Britain’s ties to the Israeli arms industry.
According to evidence presented in court and reported by The Telegraph, the activists—Charlotte Head, 29; Samuel Corner, 23; Leona Kamio, 30; Fatema Rajwani, 21; Zoe Rogers, 22; and Jordan Devlin, 31—arrived at the Elbit Systems site using a prison transport van. Their aim, prosecutors allege, was clear: to disrupt the operations of a UK-registered defense technology company whose parent corporation is based in Israel. The group, clad in red jumpsuits, crash helmets, and keffiyehs, forced entry into the compound, splattering red paint and smashing property with sledgehammers. Police officers responding to the scene encountered chaos—a security guard reportedly covered in foam, smashed equipment, and the unmistakable tension of violence in the air.
But it was what happened next that has dominated headlines and courtroom testimony. Sgt. Kate Evans, a police officer dispatched to the scene, was attempting to arrest a female activist when, as she described to jurors, her life changed in an instant. “I can remember struggling with the handcuffs. The ratchet bit got caught on the clothing, on her red boiler suit. Then I remember looking up at my colleague – he just had this shocked face on him then I just remember pain in my back,” Evans testified, according to The Independent. “It was just a massive shock vibrating through my whole body, a thud on my back. It just extended through my whole body down to my legs. I felt frozen.”
Body-worn camera footage, played for the jury, captured the harrowing moment Samuel Corner allegedly stood over Sgt. Evans and swung a sledgehammer down onto her back. Evans, who was kneeling at the time, remembers only one blow, but her colleague PC Peter Adams told the court he saw Corner strike her twice. “I remember her screaming in pain and she’s fallen to the floor on her back,” Adams recounted. The immediate aftermath was confusion and agony. “My head’s thinking my spine is shattered at this point,” Evans said, describing the surreal, almost cinematic rush of thoughts as she tried to process the attack.
Medical evidence presented at trial confirmed the severity of Evans’s injuries: a large bruise across her back and a fractured lumbar vertebra, as revealed by X-ray. The consequences were life-altering. Evans was unable to return to work for three months, and as BBC reported, she remains on restricted duty, unable to drive, dress, or shower without assistance. “The attack left Evans unable to drive, dress or shower without assistance,” Sky News reported, “she said, adding that she took painkillers to handle the ‘intense pain.’”
The violence was not limited to Sgt. Evans. PC Aaron Buxton, another officer at the scene, testified that a blond male—allegedly Corner—swung a sledgehammer at him multiple times as he tried to restrain another activist. “I was laid on my back with the male with brown hair on top of me. The male with blond hair turned and walked back towards us. He has swung the sledgehammer multiple times towards me,” Buxton told the court. “I don’t know how many times he swung it because in the moment I was scared. I believe it made contact with my right calf and my work radio. I had quite considerable pain down that area of my leg following it. Also I had slight bruising come up.”
All six defendants were arrested at the scene and now face a raft of charges: aggravated burglary, criminal damage, and violent disorder. Samuel Corner faces an additional charge of causing grievous bodily harm with intent. All have pleaded not guilty. The trial, which began in late November 2025 and is expected to continue into January, has become a focal point for debates about protest, policing, and the UK’s relationship with Israel’s defense sector.
Elbit Systems UK, the target of the break-in, is a subsidiary of the Israeli defense giant Elbit Systems, one of the main suppliers to the Israel Defense Forces. According to The Times of Israel, the activists’ opposition to Israel’s actions in the West Bank and Gaza was discussed during the trial. The company’s presence in Britain has long been a flashpoint for protest, but the violence of the August 2024 incident has led to renewed scrutiny of activist tactics and law enforcement’s ability to respond.
The case has also unfolded against a backdrop of heightened political tensions. Earlier in 2024, following a separate break-in at a Royal Air Force base, UK authorities declared Palestine Action a proscribed terrorist organization. This controversial move has led to hundreds of arrests at protests and sparked fierce debate over the boundaries of lawful dissent. Supporters of Palestine Action argue that their actions are non-violent and aimed at exposing what they see as complicity in human rights abuses abroad. Critics, including some politicians and right-wing commentators, have seized on the bodycam footage from the Bristol break-in to argue that the group’s methods are anything but peaceful. As Tommy Robinson, a far-right activist, wrote on social media, “All those politicians and ‘celebrities’ standing by them, calling them ‘non violent’? Tell that to this WPC!”
The defendants, for their part, have denied all charges. Their legal teams have highlighted their clients’ motivations, pointing to opposition to Israel’s military actions and the broader context of protest against the arms trade. But for the officers injured that night, the personal toll is undeniable. “We still have a duty of care to make sure no one is in pain… They seemed perfectly fine to me,” Evans said of her alleged attacker, who complained that his handcuffs were too tight after being arrested. Evans, meanwhile, was left “scooting around on her backside” to help colleagues because she could not stand, as described by Channel 4 News.
The trial, ongoing as of November 25, 2025, has laid bare the risks faced by police in the line of duty and the fraught landscape of protest in the UK. As the court prepares to hear closing arguments and deliver its verdict, the case continues to spark debate over the line between activism and violence, and the responsibilities of both protestors and police in an era of deepening political polarization.
Whatever the outcome, the events at Elbit Systems UK have left a lasting mark—not just on those directly involved, but on the national conversation about protest, policing, and the ethical responsibilities of companies and citizens alike.
