Overview

• Two Youth Demand activists, Willow Holland and Cristy North, disrupted the men’s elite race at the London Marathon by throwing red powder on Tower Bridge around 10:35 AM.
• The protesters wore shirts reading 'Stop Arming Israel' and stated their actions were in response to ongoing violence in Gaza and UK arms sales to Israel.
• City of London Police swiftly tackled and arrested the activists on-site, ensuring minimal disruption to the race, which continued uninterrupted.
• Youth Demand, a Gen Z-led offshoot of Just Stop Oil, has vowed further high-profile disruptions to push for a UK arms embargo on Israel.
• The protest highlights rising tensions over direct-action tactics at public events and scrutiny of Britain’s foreign policy in the Israel-Hamas conflict.