The head of Greenpeace UK, along with five other activists, were reportedly arrested on Thursday for allegedly dumping hundreds of liters of “blood-red dye” into a pond at the U.S. embassy in London. The protest was reportedly against the war in Gaza. 

The environmental group stated that the demonstration aimed to “highlight the death and devastation caused in Gaza as a direct result of the US’ continued sale of weapons to Israel.” 

According to a Greenpeace statement, “Twelve activists poured the non-toxic, biodegradable dye from containers marked ‘Stop Arming Israel’ into the large pond in front of the embassy in Nine Elms, south-west London.” The statement also noted, “The containers were delivered to the Embassy on bicycles with trailers disguised as delivery bikes.” 

Greenpeace later confirmed that Will McCallum, co-executive director of Greenpeace UK, was among those arrested. 

A Metropolitan Police spokesperson told Digital, “At 07:30hrs on Thursday, 10 April, officers on duty at the US Embassy in Nine Elms were alerted to a group of Greenpeace protesters putting red dye into the pond at the side of the building. The group fled, but officers responded quickly and searched the area.” The spokesperson continued, “Six people have so far been arrested nearby on suspicion of criminal damage and conspiracy to cause criminal damage.”

“The pond is accessible via a public footpath. There was no breach or attempted breach of the secure perimeter of the site,” the spokesperson added.

As of Thursday, the U.S. had not yet responded to Digital’s request for comment. 

Greenpeace UK released footage purportedly showing activists releasing the dye into the American embassy pond on Thursday. 

Areeba Hamid, co-executive director at Greenpeace UK, said in a statement, “We’ve turned the embassy pond blood-red because U.S. weapons continue to fuel an indiscriminate war that’s seen bombs dropped on schools and hospitals, entire neighborhoods blasted to rubble, and tens of thousands of Palestinian lives obliterated.” 

She added, “The ceasefire Trump claimed credit for has collapsed and full-scale war is back. If Trump has any real interest in stopping the war, he should listen to the majority of Americans and stop arming Israel now,” and “And the U.K. government should do the same.” 

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