"Fleming told the court the Tesla Bot was chosen because Elon Musk had "influence in US politics" at the time and the protest was because "my grandchildren and other children are at stake as we hurtle towards climate collapse". She said they had been careful about choosing the target, preparing the liquid and limiting the possible impact, which is why they were surprised when an earlier charge put the potential damage caused at 2,696.40."
"The judge told the defendants, who represented themselves in court, that despite the care they took in choosing their target they had still caused damage to private property. She said: "There is no dispute that both of you poured latex over the robot and the latex had to be removed." She described the cleaning cost as "incredibly low and reasonable" and that an employee had to clean it and "the value is calculated in terms of their time and nothing else"."
Nigel Fleming, 64, and Catherine Nash, 75, poured orange liquid latex over a mannequin Optimus robot at the Westfield Tesla store in Shepherd's Bush on 12 March. They walked into the shop at about 10:15 GMT, untied a banner, made political statements about Elon Musk, and remained until police arrived. Charges of criminal damage were amended from £2,696.40 to £21.78 to cover cleaning costs. District Judge Louisa Cieciora imposed a one-month conditional discharge on each defendant. Fleming and Nash must split the £21.78 compensation and each pay a £26 victim surcharge. Fleming said the protest targeted the Tesla Bot because of Elon Musk's influence and concerns about climate collapse, and described precautions taken to limit impact. The judge described the cleaning cost as "incredibly low and reasonable" and noted removal was calculated based on employee time.
Read at www.bbc.com
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