Britain's 'Stop Brexit Man' acquitted by judge over his musical protests outside Parliament

LONDON (AP) — An anti- Brexit activist who has spent years mounting a one-man protest outside Britain's Parliament won a court victory on Monday against a police attempt to pull the plug on his musical activities.

A judge in London cleared Steve Bray, known as "Stop Brexit Man," of failing to comply with a police order to stop playing amplified music in Parliament Square on March 20, 2024.

Bray, 56, came to prominence in the years after Britain's 2016 vote to leave the European Union by bellowing “Stop Brexit” near television reporters during live broadcasts while wearing a top hat in the blue and yellow of the EU flag.

More recently he has taken to playing satirically tinged songs before Parliament's weekly Prime Minister’s Questions session, including the theme from “The Muppet Show” and Darth Vader’s theme from “Star Wars.” He blasted “Things Can Only Get Better” outside 10 Downing St. while then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called an election in May 2024.

Bray, who represented himself during his trial, argued that the music was part of his “fundamental right to protest,” and Deputy District Judge Anthony Woodcock agreed.

Handing down a not-guilty verdict at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, the judge said Bray believes he has “an important message to disseminate.”

“How he chooses to express those views is a matter for him,” the judge said, noting that “lampooning the government through satire is a long tradition in this country.”

After the verdict, Bray said that “today is a very important day, not just for us as protesters, but for everybody’s freedom of expression and their right to protest.”

“Regardless what side of the fence you’re on, whatever your protest is, this is a victory for you,” he said.