A determined crowd of more than 100 people gathered for hours outside the Dorchester Hotel, unwelcoming arms dealers and DSEi delegates as they were arriving to celebrate their criminal trade. People gathered outside the hotel’s front door holding banners and placards, playing drums and shouting “scum’ and ‘shame’ to … well … scumbags on suits. A critical mass of about 40 cyclists also turned up effectively blocking the traffic in Parc Lane. Police, as it is usual in London, overreacted to the situation by deploying hundreds of officers and police vans in Park Lane and in the streets surrounding the hotel. The Met’s infamous Forward Intelligence Teams continuously harassed protesters by stop and searching people at random, videoing and taking photos of the protesters penned in, and eventually making some violent arrests without any provocation.

Section 14 was quickly imposed in the area, which effectively prevents any demonstration from taking place unless it is in the ‘protest designated areas’. As a result police harassment increased, and after a group of about 60-70 people and cyclists blocked the main traffic lane, police moved in pushing people over the fence into Hyde Park. Not long after that, police tried more snatch arrests which were defended by the crowd that managed to de-arrest one protester. This resulted in some scuffles in which police kicked protesters with fits and truncheons.

Eventually the atmosphere became a bit calmer, as the remaining group of about 50 people stayed inside the park’s perimeter drumming and shouting at delegates that, by that time, were starting to leave the hotel. The evening’s protests managed to create a situation in which the marketers of death felt under siege. Hundreds of police had to be deployed to protect them when getting in and out of the hotel, whilst, at the same time, endure abuse shouted at them. They could not ignore this situation, not in their way in, nor whilst inside where the protest could be heard, or even in their way out a few hours later.

There can’t be an easy ride for those that profit and promote repression, torture, death and war. These people are not only scum, but also mass murderers. The state should not be upholding their deals, and millions of pounds of public money should not be wasted protecting criminals’ fairs and gala dinners. Rot in hell you bastards!