Ryan Roberts was sentenced on the 17th December 2021 at Bristol Crown Court to a total of 14 years in prison. He was convicted of riot and four counts of arson. Three of the sentences run consecutively and only one concurrently, hence the brutal sentence of 14 years. As it is over seven years, it means he has to do two thirds of the sentence. He will do just under a decade in prison.
The demonstration took place in March 2021 against the Police, Courts and Sentencing Bill. It was an outpouring of rage against the violence of the police. The crowd fought back after police officers attacked the crowd with batons and riot shields. Pepper spray was used indiscriminately, people were charged at with horses and hit over the head with batons and shields . The protesters fought back, seizing police riot shields, helmets and batons to defend themselves. By the end of the evening several police vehicles had been set on fire.
A growing number of people have been arrested and sentenced to prison, with more trials taking place throughout 2022.
The time is NOW for solidarity.
Please write to him at Ryan Roberts A5155EM HMP Bristol, Horfield, 19 Cambridge Road, Bristol. BS7 8PS
Ryan Roberts is due to be sentenced for riot & arson after the kill the bill protests in Bristol.
Let’s show our solidarity with him and all KTB defendants and prisoners at Bristol Crown Court, Friday 17th December.
2pm – Pack the court to show Ryan he has our support and is not alone. Bring banners, friends, rage and noise!
Ryan is being sentenced tomorrow for his part in fighting back against police attacks at the Kill The Bill protest on 21st March in Bristol.
Expect more cheerleading for brutal cops and punitive, vengeful sentencing as an example to the rest of us, from Judge Patrick, in his enthusiasm for meting out maximum punishment and being a tool of the state.
We need to stand solid together in the face of escalating attacks and repression and show that our movements will not be broken or be defeated. Solidarity is our best defence.
Everyone in the court and out on the streets. ACAB. FTP.
Writing to prisoners is one of the most important acts we can do to break the isolation that prisons enforce on people. It can make a huge difference to prisoners knowing that people on the outside are thinking of them.
You can do this via normal post sent directly to the prison or via the email a prisoner website – www.emailaprisoner.com
For more detailed info on how to write to prisoners and what to say we recommend checking out this zine created by Brighton ABC.
Kill The Bill Prisoner Addresses
Last updated: 1st Jan 2022
Sentenced
Ryan Roberts A5155EM HMP Bristol, Horfield, 19 Cambridge Road, Bristol. BS7 8PS 14 years
Ben Rankin A1261AY HMP Portland, 104 the Grove, Easton, Portland, Dorset, DT5 1DL 5 years
Ryan Dwyer A4276AT HMP Portland, 104 the Grove, Easton, Portland, Dorset, DT5 1DL 4 years 6 months
Brandon Lloyd A0806EE HMP Portland, 104 the Grove, Easton, Portland, Dorset, DT5 1DL 3 years 11 months
Callum Middleton A1817ET HMP Portland, 104 the Grove, Easton, Portland, Dorset, DT5 1DL 3 years 9 months
Kane Adamson A1103ER
HMP Portland, 104 the Grove, Easton, Portland, Dorset, DT5 1DL. 3 years 6 months.
Shaun Davies A4075ER HMP Portland, 104 the Grove, Easton, Portland, Dorset, DT5 1DL 3 years 6 months
Kain Simmonds A9381EQ HMP Portland, 104 the Grove, Easton, Portland, Dorset, DT5 1DL 3 years 3 months
William Houlton A1824ET HMP Portland, 104 the Grove, Easton, Portland, Dorset, DT5 1DL 3 years
Joseph Foster A1421CD HMP Bristol, Horfield, 19 Cambridge Road, Bristol. BS7 8PS 3 years 3 months
A joint statement by Bristol Anarchist Black Cross and Bristol Defendant Solidarity
On Friday 29 October, Ryan Roberts was found guilty of riot and four charges of arson.
We continue to stand in solidarity with Ryan and all other defendants charged following the Kill the Bill demos in Bristol. We will give them all the support we can, whatever the sentences they receive.
Our hearts are heavy. We are full of rage. Ryan’s conviction only adds fuel to the fire of our hatred of the carceral system and our desire to dismantle it.
Ryan’s trial was the first time the events of that night were put before the courts. The court heard from a legal observer that “it was the actions of the police who pushed the crowd that caused the escalation.”
The court heard that police officers punched and kicked protesters. It heard that officers used their shields as weapons. The jury saw footage of a line of police officers in riot gear knocking two people to the ground, repeatedly hitting them with riot shields, and kicking them.
Under cross examination one officer stated:
“you can call it violence or you can call it lawful force.”
Because as we’re said before – they only call it violence when we fight back.
But it is not a crime to fight back against police violence and state repression. We cannot stand to one side when people are beaten. And every one of us has a duty to stand in solidarity with those persecuted for fighting back.
The police, prison and courts system are trying hard to place barriers in the way of our solidarity. For example, on the first day of Ryan’s case Bristol Crown Court prevented Ryan’s friends and supporters from entering the courtroom. The choice to close the public gallery was a direct violation of the legal system’s own concepts of ‘democracy’ and ‘justice’. It was also an ideological attack on our solidarity with Ryan, and with all prisoners and defendants within the court system.
The repression people are currently facing in Bristol is just the start. This repression is set to get worse. The Police, Crime, Courts and Sentencing Bill, currently going through the House of Lords, will make it easier for the police to criminalise and imprison protesters. But the bill is not just about protest. We stand in solidarity with Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities whose way of life is being outlawed by this bill. We stand in solidarity with Black people, already bearing the brunt of a racist police force, who will be disproportionately targeted by the stop and search powers in the bill. In Bristol, Black men are nearly ten times more likely to be stopped and searched than white men.
In Bristol and across England & Wales women continue to experience sexist & misogynistic behaviour, and – all too often – assault, at the hands of police officers.
We are under no illusions that the situation is stacked against us. The mainstream media and state narratives have served to demonise those that took part in the protest on 21 March. They have labelled people thugs for daring to fight back when they’ve been battered and pepper sprayed; when they’ve been bitten by dogs and seen their friends injured. The trial judge has already stated in the cases where people have pleaded guilty that the actions that night “dehumanised the police”. But it is the police who dehumanise us on a daily basis. Every stop and search, every baton strike, every arrest is another act of dehumanisation. It is the police who are the problem. Not those who resist.
But we will change that narrative. We will expose the violence the police showed not just that night, but in our communities, on our protests and on our streets on a daily basis. We will continue taking pride in each and every time people stand up and say enough is enough to state violence.
The state is pursuing ridiculously serious charges against the Bristol protesters because they are scared. They are scared of our anger. They are scared of our passion. They are scared at our willingness to fight back. They are scared that more and more people are finally seeing the police force as the violent, racist, classist and sexist institution that it is; something that those from marginalised communities are already so acutely aware of.
So while our hearts are heavy and our thoughts are with Ryan and their family and friends, our determination to fight and support those facing repression is undiminished. We refuse to be scared. We refuse to be intimidated.
On 25th October, Ryan Roberts is on trial in Bristol on charges of riot and arson relating to the Kill the Bill demo on 21st March 2021. Ryan has been held on remand since April and is the first defendant to face trial following the events of that night.
We stand in solidarity with Ryan and all KTB defendants. The police acted with impunity at the KTB demos. Protesters sitting in the road were violently attacked. People were pepper-sprayed, and hit with batons and shields. 62 people were injured in the KTB protests that took place in Bristol in March.
But they only call it violence when we fight back.
It is not a crime to fight back against police violence and state repression. We cannot stand to one side when people are beaten. And every one of us has a duty to stand in solidarity with those persecuted for fighting back.
This repression is set to get worse. The Police, Crime, Courts and Sentencing Bill, currently going through the House of Lords, will make it easier for the police to criminalise and imprison protesters. But the bill is not just about protest. We stand in solidarity with Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities whose way of life is being outlawed by this bill. We stand in solidarity with Black people, already bearing the brunt of a racist police force, who will be disproportionately targeted by the stop and search powers in the bill. In Bristol, Black men are nearly ten times more likely to be stopped and searched than white men.
We stand in solidarity with the people who will be criminalised, and locked up in prison for even longer as a result of the Bill.
The trial judge has already stated in the cases where people have pleaded guilty that the actions that night “dehumanised the police”. But it is the police who dehumanise us on a daily basis. Every stop and search, every baton strike, every arrest is another act of dehumanisation. It is the police who are the problem. Not protesters.
Solidarity protests will be held outside the court at 8:30am on 25th October and at 5:30pm on 27th October.
Anarchist prisoner Toby Shone was sentenced to 3 years 9 months in prison for 8 drug offences at Bristol Crown Court on October 13, 2021 after Terrorism charges were dropped. He has already served 8 months of this sentence on remand.
The ‘drugs’ were psychedelics and medicinal plants (LSD, DMT, cannabis, THC oil, MDMA and magic mushrooms) found at two of the four properties raided by counter-terror cops in the UK South-West on November 18, 2020 in their hunt for the administrator of anarchist website 325.nostate.net.
Toby was originally charged with providing a service enabling others to access terrorist publications contrary to section 2 of the Terrorism Act 2006, fundraising for terrorist purposes contrary to section 15 of the Terrorism Act 2000, and two counts of possession of information likely to be useful to a terrorist contrary to section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000. He had pleaded not guilty to these charges earlier this year and was due to stand trial at Bristol Crown Court on October 6, 2021. However, with no evidence to put before the court, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) was forced to drop these charges on October 1st. This was a landmark attempt by the British State and the deranged Home Secretary Priti Patel to prosecute an anarchist under modern terrorism legislation.
The investigation into 325 continues and cops continue to harass and attempt to intimidate one of Toby’s comrades at her home.
Toby is in good spirits and remains strong. He hopes to delay being transferred to another prison until he has had his annual MRI scan for cancer which is scheduled for this month with his medical team in Bristol, so please continue to send letters of support and birthday cards (it is his birthday on October 20th) to:
Ryan Roberts’ trial for riot and arson is on the 25-27th October. If convicted he is facing a long sentence. He will be the first defendant to be brought to trial to have plead not guilty for charges relating to the 21st March Kill the Bill demonstration.
Ryan is calling for solidarity and support
We will hold a demonstration on October 25th at 8.30am outside Bristol Crown Court. We’d also like people to sit in court from the 25th-27th, to show that Ryan has support!
On the final day of the trial we will hold a demo at 5pm outside the Crown Court.
Our passion for freedom is stronger than the prison!
Last week people gathered outside HMP Eastwood park women’s prison to show solidarity with prisoners who have recently experienced increased levels of violence from prison guards. They chanted “you are not alone” and made noise so that the people inside could know that they are supported, and that the violence that they experience behind the prison walls will not go on unnoticed.
People also gathered and made noise at HMP Bristol to show solidarity with the prisoners and also let the recently convicted KTB prisoners know that they have support from the wider community, and that people are outraged at the harsh sentencing for those who went to protest against more police powers and tougher sentences.
Ways to support the Kill The Bill Protesters include sending letters, donating to the croudfunders and helping to change the narrative that this was mindless violence. What happened in Spring this year was not mindless violence it was a protest where protesters defended themselves and their comrades against police violence.
People gathered outside HMP Eastwood park with banners reading: “End police violence at Eastwood Park” and “Solidarity with Prisoners”People gathered outside HMP Bristol with banners
