The University of Texas Austin has sent out an email to students alerting them of a ‘Notice of Dispersal Order’ amidst ongoing pro-Palestine protests. The order, issued by the university’s administration, instructs students to disperse from protest areas immediately or face potential consequences. The protests have been ongoing for several days and have drawn attention to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine.
Tommy Robinson, known by his real name Stephen Yaxley Lennon, was arrested at an antisemitism march in London in November 2022 for breaching a dispersal order. However, a trial revealed that the police officer who imposed the order, Inspector Steve Parker-Phipps, made a crucial error on the paperwork. Due to his laptop battery dying, he accidentally dated the form for November 24 instead of the correct date, November 26. As a result, District Judge Daniel Sternberg ruled that the dispersal order was not legally authorized, leading to Robinson’s acquittal.
A senior Metropolitan Police officer has admitted that a dispersal order allegedly breached by Tommy Robinson may not have been lawful due to an error in the date on the paperwork. Robinson, 40, denies failing to comply with a direction to leave an area in Westminster on November 26 last year. Inspector Steve Parker-Phipps, responsible for policing the protest, imposed the order under the Crime and Policing Act 2014 when he thought a “right-wing group” could potentially be attending.
