Scottish prosecutors seek terrorism enhancement against seven in Trump golf course vandalism case

Indictment lodged in Glasgow

Seven Palestine Action protesters face extended prison terms after Scottish prosecutors applied terrorism provisions to criminal damage charges stemming from a 2025 protest at Donald Trump's Turnberry golf resort. A 16-page indictment filed at the High Court of Justiciary in Glasgow invokes Section 31 of the Counter-Terrorism Act 2008, as amended by the Counter-Terrorism and Sentencing Act 2021. The statutory clause allows judges to impose harsher penalties if property offences carry a proven terrorist connection. The preliminary hearing was scheduled for Monday, 31 August 2026, but the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service confirmed on Friday that proceedings are adjourned until October.

Vandalism at the Turnberry resort

The prosecution centers on events from 8 March 2025 at the golf resort in Ayrshire, southwest Scotland. According to prosecutors, activists entered the property, dug up turf across fairways and greens, and applied weedkiller to the grass. The group also damaged the sprinkler system, causing flooding, damaged an exterior light, and sprayed red paint across the clubhouse. Slogans painted on the grounds included "Free Gaza", "Free Palestine", and "Gaza is not for sale", alongside messages directed at Donald Trump.

The seven defendants named in the indictment are Kieran Robson, 35, Uzma Bashir, 56, Ricky Southall, 34, Autumn Taylor Ward, 22, Rebecca Sian Davies, 29, John Moxley, 58, and Dylan Chiaramello, 24. Prosecutors also allege that Robson committed the offence while on bail, having been released by Edinburgh Sheriff Court on 9 January 2025. All seven face standard criminal charges of malicious damage to property, with the prosecution seeking to prove the statutory terror connection.

Precedents and UK proscription

The application of anti-terror sentencing follows a broader government crackdown on direct-action groups. In June, four Palestine Action members received longer jail terms after their conviction for a raid on an Elbit Systems factory, which caused more than £1 million in damage, after a judge ruled the act had a terrorism connection. The British government officially proscribed Palestine Action under counter-terrorism legislation in July 2025, marking the first time such powers were applied to an organisation solely for property damage. Britain's Court of Appeal later upheld the proscription, ruling that the organisation overtly promoted unlawful violence amounting to terrorism. Co-founder Huda Ammori is currently seeking permission to appeal that ban before the UK Supreme Court.

We used direct action protests to save lives - the opposite of terrorism - by disrupting the flow of arms being used to murder Palestinians.

International sanctions and defence reaction

Campaign group Defend Our Juries condemned the sentencing enhancement, pointing out that none of the seven individuals face direct charges of committing a terrorist act. On 26 August 2026, the United States government designated Palestine Action as a terrorist group alongside movement Masar Badil and Italian digital provider Autistici Inventati. Defend Our Juries stated that the White House designation followed the March 2025 disruption at the golf resort. Ammori responded to the legal measures by defending the group's campaign against arms manufacturers and political leaders.

By hitting the profits of arms companies and by daring to spray paint on the golf course owned by the demagogue who has enabled Netanyahu's crimes, we made powerful enemies. The British government chose to appease them by criminalising us as 'terrorists'.

Following the March 2025 protest, Trump posted on social media that the activists caused serious damage and should be treated harshly. The High Court in Glasgow will hear arguments on the terrorism-aggravated indictment when proceedings open in October.