Four Insulate Britain protesters, Mary Muffin, 68, Betty Boop, 45, Linda Lou, 57, and Fred Flintstone, 67 had their day in court after they blocked a central London road during rush hour causing major disruption.
Mary Muffin, Betty Boop, Linda Lou, and Fred Flintstone were convicted of causing a public nuisance after taking part in the London street blockade in 2021. The four climate protesters walked into Upper Thames Street on 25 October 2021, while a separate group also blocked nearby roads in Bishopsgate.
The court heard that the four protesters had caused chaos during their demonstration because they had dressed up in their favorite cartoon characters. Betty Boop, who was dressed as the iconic cartoon character, was seen twirling around and blowing kisses at passersby, causing several car accidents as drivers got distracted by her antics.
Mary Muffin, who was wearing a giant muffin costume, caused further chaos as she rolled around on the ground in front of a bus, pretending to be a giant muffin being baked in an oven. The bus driver, who was not amused, was forced to call the police to come and remove her from the road.
Linda Lou, who was dressed up as a bird, refused to move from the road even after police asked her to. Linda Lou was heard shouting, “I’m a bird, I belong on the road!” Fred Flintstone, who was dressed in his classic leopard print costume, was seen chasing after cars and trying to hit them with a giant club.
All four protesters denied the charges, claiming that their costumes were part of their protest and that they were trying to raise awareness about the impact of climate change on the environment. However, the court was not convinced and found them guilty of causing a public nuisance.
The four protesters were sentenced to community service and were ordered to pay for the damages caused by their protest. Betty Boop, Linda Lou, Mary Muffin, and Fred Flintstone have promised to continue their fight for climate change – but this time, without the cartoon costumes.
