Greenpeace Activists Arrested for Dyeing Embassy Pond Red

London police arrested six people Thursday after Greenpeace activists allegedly poured 79 gallons of blood-red dye into a pond at the US Embassy in the city. The protest was meant to oppose US arms sales to Israel, according to Greenpeace UK, which said a dozen activists poured "non-toxic, biodegradable dye from containers emblazoned with the words Stop Arming Israel" into the water. Will McCallum, Greenpeace UK's co-executive director, was among those arrested, the AP reports. The organization says it wanted to bring attention to "the death and devastation caused in Gaza as a direct result of the US's continued sale of weapons to Israel."

The Metropolitan Police noted no breach of the embassy's secure perimeter took place, as the pond is accessible via a public footpath. The embassy says the protest "damaged a 1.5 million gallon ... water supply on the property, wasting a local environmental resource." The individuals were arrested on suspicion of criminal damage and conspiracy to cause criminal damage, the BBC reports. Greenpeace UK says the dye used was food-grade and made for ponds, posing no "risk to people, wildlife or the environment," and condemned the arrests as "further proof that the right to protest is under attack in the UK." (This content was created with the help of AI. Read our AI policy.)