Sussex gets a new political copper: SmashEDO Summer of resistance demo report

On Wednesday Smash EDO held a noisy demo outside the arms factory against the threat of an attack by the US and Israel on Iran as part of week five of the Summer of Resistance.

Last week campaigners had home visits from PC Sean Mcdonald and Stephanie Franks wanting to 'talk' about the upcoming "left wing social events" over the Jubilee weekend.

Sean Mcdonald, for anyone who doesn't already know, has been the officer charged with monitoring of protest campaigns in Brighton, particularly the Smash EDO campaign. He has carried out his role with sociopathic gusto, finding out personal details about participants in the campaign through 'friendly chats' and through trolling sites like Indymedia. This information has been used in court case against Smash EDO campaigners and also in an attempt to get campaigners to lose their cool. Mcdonald delights in winding activists up in the hope that they will snap and do something for which he can nick them.

It seems that Mcdonald may be moving on to a new position and he seems to have handed over his official role of 'events liaison offiver' to Stephanie Franks (pictured below)

Franks was at the demo on Wednesday trying to ingratiate herself with activists and, when people refused to talk to her, sat hopefully with the demonstration (looknig markedly uncomfortable)

You may well see Stephanie Franks this weekend if you attend the June 4th Don't attack Iran demo or the UK Uncut street party. Be wary of her...

The Sean Mcdonaldesque information gathering tactic of placing outwardly friendly and chatty officers on demonstrations to glean info from the participants seems to being expanded to other forces, it was seen at UK Uncut's street party outside Nick Clegg's house last week. Don't be fooled