Two Just Stop Oil protesters who scaled a bridge on the Dartford Crossing, causing gridlock when police closed the bridge to traffic, have both been jailed as the judge stressed he wanted others to be deterred from copying them.
Morgan Trowland, 40, and 34-year-old Marcus Decker used ropes and other climbing equipment to scale the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, which links the M25 in Essex and Kent.
Prosecutor Adam King said the bridge was closed from 4am on October 17 last year to 9pm the following day, with traffic forced to use the tunnels instead.
Both defendants were found guilty by unanimous verdicts of causing a public nuisance, following an earlier trial at Basildon Crown Court.
Judge Shane Collery KC sentenced Trowland at Southend Crown Court to three years in prison, while Decker was jailed for two years and seven months.
"You have to be punished for the chaos you caused and to deter others from copying you," he said.
The judge said that Trowland, who has six previous convictions relating to protests, had a "leading role", while Decker had one previous conviction relating to a protest.
The judge said that the pair "plainly believed you knew better than everyone else", adding: "In short, to hell with everyone else."
"By your actions you caused this very important road to be closed for 40 hours," the judge said, noting that the disruption affected "many tens of thousands, some very significantly".
Just Stop Oil said a judge was "trying to set a precedent" by jailing two of its activists for their protest at the Dartford Crossing.
Morgan Trowland, 40, and 34-year-old Marcus Decker used ropes and other climbing equipment to scale the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, which links the M25 in Essex and Kent.
The pair appeared shocked as the sentences were read out, with structural engineer Trowland then nodding to acknowledge people around the courtroom from behind the glass of the secure dock.
Private tutor Decker simply stood and waited for the dock officer to lead him to the cells.
Both men have been in custody since their arrest last October.
The pair were prosecuted under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 10 years.
The judge said the pair "have to be punished for the chaos you caused and to deter others from copying you".
He added that "protest is tolerated" but that "in no society can there be a blank cheque in terms of what's permitted".
Stephanie Golder, a Just Stop Oil spokesperson, said outside court that she was "horrified" by the sentences.
"I think the judge was trying to set a precedent," she said.
"He's trying to deter people but we are not to be deterred because until the Government commits to no new oil and gas we will continue in our campaign of resistance.
"It wasn't what I expected at all.
"I felt tearful, emotional.
"But what makes me feel tearful is the fact we're going to be dealing with millions and potentially billions of climate refugees in the next 20, 30 years.
