Suspect arrested after Churchill statue in London defaced with pro-Palestinian graffiti

LONDON (AP) — London police said they caught a vandal red-handed — or at least with red paint — after he defaced a statue Friday of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in central London with pro-Palestinian graffiti.

The 38-year-old suspect was arrested on suspicion of racially aggravated criminal damage for allegedly painting “Zionist war criminal” on the plinth beneath the 12-foot statute of Churchill leaning on a cane that faces Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, the Metropolitan Police said.

“Stop the Genocide” and “Free Palestine” were also painted in red on the bronze sculpture.

The Dutch group called “Free the Filton 24,” a reference to Palestine Action activists charged with breaking into Israel-based defense firm Elbit’s sites in the U.K., claimed responsibility for the vandalism.

Police did not name the suspect, as is customary when someone hasn’t been charged, but said he was in custody.

Olax Outis, who said he is Dutch and part of the action group, claimed to be the man behind the act, explaining his actions in a seven-part Instagram post that was prerecorded.

“If you see this message that peaceful protest has begun and it’s a reasonable assumption that I’m currently in a jail, somewhere in London,” he wrote.

Outis denounced Churchill and the current government, saying he was drawing “attention to the horrible human rights violations happening in a country that’s run by colonizers who refuse to listen to their people.”

The statue created by Ivor Roberts-Jones and unveiled in 1973 has frequently been vandalized. Black Lives Matter protesters in 2020 and climate group Extinction Rebellion in October both spray painted the word “racist” on the statue.