Pro-Palestine activists guilty after damaging factory owned by Israeli defence firm

Three pro-Palestine activists have been found guilty of criminal damage after targeting a Newcastle factory owned by an Israeli defence company during a protest last year.

A jury at Newcastle Crown Court convicted Hollie Mildenhall, 25, Georgia Coote, 28, and Summer Oxlade, 29, over an incident at Pearson Engineering in February 2025.

The trio damaged property at the Scotswood Road site, spraying red paint, smashing parts of a company sign and dumping rubble at the entrance during an early-morning protest.

Prosecutors said the activists were motivated by opposition to Israel’s war in Gaza, but had acted unlawfully.

The court heard that at about 5.20am on 18 February 2025, Mildenhall and Coote climbed onto the roof of the factory’s gatehouse while Oxlade drove a flatbed truck and tipped rubble in front of the entrance.

While on the roof, the pair sprayed red paint from fire extinguishers, cut through razor wire and smashed two illuminated panels of the firm’s large sign.

Oxlade also attempted to chain herself to the truck after unloading the rubble.

Jurors heard the protest halted production at the site for a day and caused around £6,800 worth of damage.

Pearson Engineering is owned by Israeli defence company Rafael Advanced Defence Systems, although a company representative told the court that no equipment manufactured at the Tyneside facility had been supplied to Israel.

Judge Edward Bindloss ruled that several defences argued by the women could not be considered by the jury because they did not apply to the circumstances of the case.

In his remarks, the judge said the activists had “decided to take the law into their own hands” rather than pursue legal routes to challenge what they believed were the company’s activities.

He noted the company had stated it “did not export” equipment to Israel and held no licences to do so, telling the court that the factory produces defensive military technology such as mine-detection vehicles for the UK and allied countries.

During the trial, the defendants told jurors they believed the factory was “complicit” in a “genocide” and was producing equipment that would be used by Israel to commit “war crimes”.

Jurors took two hours and 15 minutes to return unanimous guilty verdicts.

Mildenhall and Coote, both from Newcastle, and Oxlade, from Houghton-le-Spring, were released on bail and will be sentenced on 29 April.

As they left the court, one of the women shouted “Free Palestine”.

In a statement outside court following the verdict, one of the activists said: “Today we’ve been found guilty of a so-called crime of criminal damage.”

She added: “This decision comes from a jury of our peers, the Crown Prosecution Service, and the King himself. We must move forward, keep organising ourselves towards the liberation of all.”

She continued: “In the tradition of the Palestinian resistance, we must move forward no matter what the enemy puts in our way. It is better to live on our feet than to die on our knees.”

She concluded: “We are lucky. We may have this verdict, but we still have the air in our lungs. We must remember the martyrs and act in their memory.”