A protester bit a police officer during a bizarre bid to “seize” Edinburgh Castle under the powers of the Magna Carta.
Richard Bale was among 20 demonstrators who claimed they were taking back the historic landmark as Scotland was the victim of “treason”.
Bale, 50, grabbed hold of a security barrier during a stand-off with staff allowing his group to enter the castle, the Daily Record reports.
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Protesters live streamed the attempted takeover on Facebook, with one stating: “The people of Scotland have had enough and today we claim our power back.”
Police later moved in and Bale sunk his teeth into the constable, leaving him requiring hospital treatment and a hepatitis B booster.
Bale, of Neilston, near Glasgow, appeared at the city’s sheriff court on Thursday and admitted assaulting Pc Liam Hulme and committing a breach of the peace.
Fiscal depute Joanna Waller said around 20 protesters descended on Edinburgh Castle at around 4.15pm.
Ms Waller said the group claimed to be taking action under Article 61 of Magna Carta, the 800-year-old charter of rights.
Bale admitted conducting himself in a disorderly manner and demanding staff grant him entry to the building.
Ms Waller said Bale grabbed hold of a barrier held by a security guard and threw it, allowing the group to get inside.
Bale pled guilty to a charge of “attempting to claim ownership” of the castle.
Ms Waller said police moved in at around 9pm when Bale had been separated from his fellow demonstrators.
Bale bit Pc Hulme during the incident and “broke the skin”, the prosecutor said.
The constable needed a hepatitis B booster injection, she added, and was “non-deployable for a period of time”.
The incident took place on August 17 2021, the court heard, during the Covid pandemic.
Defence agent Hannah Ridgway said it had been a “peaceful protest” which “got out of hand”.
Ms Ridgway said a knee had made contact with her client during the encounter with cops and Bale reacted by biting.
She said first offender Bale regretted the “alarm” caused to staff at the castle.
Sheriff Daniel Kelly deferred sentence on Bale until next month for reports.
In a live stream video of the incident, one woman can be heard saying “we have seized Edinburgh Castle”.
She added: “We’re waiting to restore the rule of law. We’re doing this peacefully and we’re doing this lawfully.
“Edinburgh Castle belongs to the people of Scotland. High treason has been committed.
“We are using article 61 of the Magna Carta. We have had enough. The people of Scotland have had enough and today we claim our power back.”
The video was shared on social media accounts linked to anti-lockdown and anti-vaccine groups.
One anti-lockdown Facebook page called for support for the “seizure”, adding: "Sovereign Scots lay siege to take back Edinburgh Castle under Common Law, to remove and expose the corrupt political and admiral system.”
The move prompted a large police response with multiple vans and officers dispatched to the scene.
Eyewitnesses said members of the public were quickly evacuated.
Magna Carta - signed in 1215 by England’s King John - was a royal bill of rights designed to bring peace between the English king and his barons.
Its purpose served to limit the power of the monarch and enshrine certain rights.
But it predates the Act of Union and doesn’t have any bearing upon Scots Law.
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