An anti-AI protester has claimed that he was arrested for wearing a T-shirt with the slogan "Plasticine Action".
Miles Pickering was arrested alongside more than 500 people during a demonstration in Parliament Square, London, on August 9.
Under the Terrorism Act 2000, it is a criminal offence to wear clothing in support of a proscribed organisation, including Palestine Action.
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However, Mr Pickering was not sporting clothes in support of the group, instead wearing an anti-AI top, featuring the words "Plasticine Action" with TV character Morph seen peeking through the letter "O".
The T-shirt also featured the words "we oppose AI-generated animation".
The protester told The Guardian that a police officer looked at his top before saying, "Right, you're nicked", prompting cheers from a group of protesters.
"They were all cheering us, and I was cheekily pointing to my T-shirt and going ‘Plasticine Action!’ to everyone, so they were taking photos of me, and everyone was laughing at how silly it was that I was getting arrested for being a plasticine terrorist,” Mr Pickering said.
The Brighton engineer claims a senior officer queried if he could be arrested under section 12 of the Terrorism Act, which may have resulted in a more serious charge.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
Mr Pickering has now begun selling the 'Plasticine Action' T-shirts
|FACEBOOK/MILES PICKERING
The arresting officer, however, said he could not and pointed out the true wording on Mr Pickering's top.
The protester told The Guardian: “[The officer] said: ‘I’ve got good news and I’ve got bad news.’ I said: ‘What’s the good news?’ He said: ‘I’m de-arresting you.’
“And I said: ‘What’s the bad news?’ He said: ‘It’s going to be really embarrassing for me'."
The Met Police confirmed it had arrested a man under the Terrorism Act who at the time was wearing a scarf which "partially obscured the slogan on his T-shirt".
A force spokesperson said: “Shortly after 2pm on Saturday, August 9, officers on duty in Parliament Square arrested a man on suspicion of an offence under Section 12 of the Terrorism Act 2000.
Met Police said it has arrested 700 protestors since Palestine Action became a proscribed group in July
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“At the time of his arrest, the man was wearing a scarf that partially obscured the slogan on his T-shirt which officers believed read Palestine Action.
“He was taken to one of the nearby prisoner processing points where, once officers realised the T-shirt actually read Plasticine Action, he was de-arrested and was free to leave.
“His arrest is not included in the figure of 532 arrests as part of the policing operation that day.”
Mr Pickering has now started to sell the T-shirts on a dedicated website, with all money made going to Medical Aid for Palestinians.
"Short visit to Scotland Yard before I was granted my freedom. Hoping there'll be more people supporting the animation industry at the next rally," he wrote in a post to social media.
"We are a peaceful organisation, who do not promote violence in defence of those affected by AI-generated animation; despite the suffering some are experiencing.
"We don't want to be confused with any other organisations and are keen not to be proscribed under any legislation whatsoever."
The Prime Minister said Britain will recognise Palestine statehood in September if Israel agrees to a ceasefire
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A video has since circulated online of a man wearing the same T-shirt at a pro-Palestine demonstration in Glasgow over the weekend.
The man can be seen in the clip with two police officers, including one holding the man’s wrist while appearing to listen to a walkie-talkie.
However, Police Scotland has confirmed it made no arrests during the rally.
Police swoop in to arrest protesters supporting the banned group Palestine Action | PAPalestine Action was proscribed as a terrorist organisation last month, making it a criminal offence to show support for the organisation, carrying a sentence of up to 14 years in prison.
Scotland Yard said it has arrested more than 700 people since the group's proscription on July 5.
Despite clamping down on Palestine Action, Sir Keir Starmer has said he will recognise Palestine statehood in September unless Israel agrees to meet certain conditions, including a ceasefire and a revival of the two-state solution.