BIRKENHEAD, Ireland - March 7, 2011 - Hundreds of anti-establishment protestors stormed a Wirral court today and "arrested" a judge. In chaotic scenes, police rescued Judge Michael Peake from their clutches and escorted him safely from the building.
Protestors from the public gallery charged at Judge Peake to make a civil arrest chanting “arrest that judge”. Police scrambled over court benches to control the near riot and one protestor shouted “seal the court”.
Deafening cheers and chants could be heard from the crowd outside and protestors used mobile phones to film arrests being made. Roads were blockaded and dozens of police officers deployed to keep order.
A stand-off followed with several demonstrators staging a sit down protest in front of police vehicles, refusing to let them pass. The protestors were from the anti-establishment British Constitution Group.
The demonstration was sparked when Wirral man Roger Hayes faced a bankruptcy hearing for non-payment of council tax. As he emerged from the court surrounded by his supporters, Hayes said, "The judges are breaking the law in their own courts.”
"I asked the judge if he was serving under his oath of office. I asked three times for him to confirm this and he refused. So I civilly arrested the judge and I called upon some people in the court to assist me in this. They were acting lawfully and the police should not have arrested them," said Hayes.
The hearing was abandoned and will need to be rearranged at a date to be fixed.
Raymond Saintclair, who organized the Birkenhead protest, said, "Today was day one. This is going to happen again and again and again. We have sent a message to this court as one nation and one voice until change comes."
Leaflets handed out by the crowd read, "We, the British People, have a right to govern ourselves. That right has been subjugated as a consequence of acts of treason committed by the collective political establishment, aided and abetted by corrupt segments of the judiciary, the police, the Church and the civil service."
