Dutch Activist Who Covered Winston Churchill’s Statue in Red Paint Walks Free After Jury Reaches Surprising Verdict

A Dutch activist who covered Winston Churchill’s statue with political messages and red paint has been found not guilty of criminal damage after a trial at Southwark Crown Court.

Olax Outis, who also uses the name Caspar San Giorgio, defended himself during the jury trial. The 39-year-old had been accused of causing more than £7,000 worth of damage to the famous statue in Parliament Square, London.

The incident happened in the early hours of February 27. Outis was wearing a red boiler suit with the words “I support Palestine Action” written on it when he climbed onto the statue.

A Greater London Authority heritage warden reportedly saw him spray-painting the monument at around 4am. The court heard that he had cans of spray paint, a ladder and diluted acid with him.

Prosecutors said Outis sprayed several messages and symbols across the statue. These included “Free Palestine”, red triangles and “Never Again is Now”. He also wrote words describing Churchill as a “Zionist war criminal” beneath Churchill’s name.

Another message was written in Dutch. Outis told the court that it meant: “The Hague sends their regards.” He said the message was aimed at Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Parliament over Britain’s actions relating to Palestine.

Outis denied committing criminal damage. He argued that the paint could be removed and said his main intention was to send a political message rather than permanently damage the statue.

While defending himself in court, Outis said that if he had more space and time, he would have written a longer message about Sir Keir Starmer and The Hague.

He also told the jury that he was not particularly worried about what would happen to him personally. He said that whether he was found guilty, deported or imprisoned, he would still be proud that he had spoken about what he believed was an injustice.

Outis also argued that he believed his protest was an attempt to prevent a crime and therefore should not be treated as criminal damage.

After hearing the evidence, the jury at Southwark Crown Court found him not guilty.

The court heard that the total cleaning and related costs were more than £7,000. This included £612 plus VAT for police barriers and £6,504 plus VAT for emergency graffiti cleaning and restoration work.

Following the incident, a Downing Street spokesman strongly condemned what happened and described Churchill as a great British figure. The Government said those responsible for damaging important monuments should be held accountable.

An online account linked to Outis also posted a video around the time of the incident. In the clip, he identified himself and said he had travelled to the UK specifically to deface Churchill’s statue. The post also contained several highly insulting comments about Churchill and compared him with Sir Keir Starmer.

The incident later raised concerns about security around the monument.

The London Assembly passed a motion calling for the Metropolitan Police to put more resources into protecting the statue because of its national importance.

The Assembly also called on London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan to raise the security concerns directly with the Metropolitan Police Commissioner and seek information about what could be done to prevent similar incidents in the future.