Scots Charge Trump Golf Vandals With Terror Link
Scots Charge Trump Golf Vandals With Terror Link
The News
Scottish prosecutors have accused seven people charged with vandalizing President Donald Trump's Turnberry golf resort of committing malicious damage "having a terrorist connection" — a finding that could mean far longer prison terms if they are convicted.
The indictment, released by the Scottish courts service on Friday, says the seven maliciously dug up turf on the golf course, sprayed glyphosate or a similar weed killer on the fairways and greens, painted "political and offensive slogans" on the grass, walls, a building, pillars and a signpost, scored a slogan into the turf, damaged a sprinkler system causing flooding, and damaged a light.
None of the seven is charged with a terrorism offense. Prosecutors say only that the alleged crime was "aggravated by reason of having a terrorist connection," which raises the sentencing exposure.
Who Is Charged
The Guardian identifies the accused as Kieran Robson, 35; Uzma Bashir, 56; Ricky Southall, 34; Autumn Taylor Ward, 22; Rebecca Sian Davies, 29; John Moxley, 58; and Dylan Chiaramello, 24.
They are due in court on Monday, Aug. 31.
Timeline
The clubhouse at the five-star Trump Turnberry hotel and resort on Scotland's west coast is graffitied and the course is dug up and painted with the words "Gaza is not 4 sale." The Jerusalem Post reports walls were sprayed with "Free Gaza" and "Free Palestine" along with insults aimed at Trump.
A note of a meeting between Scottish First Minister John Swinney and Eric Trump records that the incident was "noted with concern," condemning the vandalism and offering reassurance that authorities would keep taking it seriously.
Britain proscribes Palestine Action, the group the accused activists are tied to, under its terrorism laws.
Four Palestine Action members receive longer jail terms over a raid on a factory operated by Israeli defense firm Elbit that caused more than 1 million pounds in damage, after a judge concluded there was a terrorism connection. Days later, Britain's Court of Appeal upholds the ban on the group, saying it "overtly promoted unlawful violence amounting to terrorism."
The United States designates Palestine Action a terrorist group as part of a Trump administration crackdown on "far-left extremists."
The indictment with the terrorist-connection aggravation becomes public.
Reactions
The campaign group Defend Our Juries said the seven would face far longer sentences if treated as terrorists despite facing no terrorism charges. "It's now all too clear why the White House has designated Palestine Action as a global terror organization, alongside al Qaeda," a spokesman told the group's critics. "It's because members of Palestine Action upset the president in March 2025 by making a mess of his golf course."
Palestine Action co-founder Huda Ammori, who is challenging the British ban in the UK Supreme Court, said the case "should be the final nail in the coffin of this ban, which has become one of the most extreme attacks on free speech and the right to protest in modern British history."
The Jerusalem Post reports that the June sentences drew condemnation from human rights groups and high-profile supporters who called them disproportionate.
What's Next
The seven make their first court appearance Monday, Aug. 31. If convicted of malicious mischief with the terrorist-connection aggravation, the Financial Times reports they could face tougher sentences than the vandalism charge alone would carry.
Ammori's challenge to the British ban is still pending at the UK Supreme Court.
More
Turnberry's Ailsa course has staged the Open four times. Trump bought the Ayrshire resort from a Dubai-based group in 2014 for an undisclosed sum; tee times for non-residents are listed at up to 1,000 pounds a head.
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