Overview
Scottish prosecutors say seven defendants accused of causing criminal damage at the Turnberry golf resort owned by U.S. President Donald Trump could receive longer prison terms if a court accepts that the acts were "aggravated by reason of having a terrorist connection". The indictment, supplied by the Scottish courts' service on Friday, lays out allegations that include spray-painting political slogans, digging up turf and applying weedkiller to course surfaces.
Allegations in the indictment
The charges stem from an incident at the resort last year in which activists from the group Palestine Action are accused of painting walls and grass with messages such as "Free Gaza" and "Free Palestine", and phrases insulting the U.S. president. One of the greens was reportedly marked with the slogan "Gaza is not for sale" and holes were dug on the course, according to the indictment. Prosecutors say the seven accused "did maliciously dig up turf on the golf courses", sprayed weedkiller on the fairways and greens, and painted "political and offensive slogans on the grass".
Legal consequences and upcoming hearing
The prosecutors have notified that, if found guilty, they will seek harsher sentences on the basis the offences were "aggravated by reason of having a terrorist connection". The seven individuals are scheduled to make their first appearance in court on Monday.
Context on Palestine Action and related rulings
Palestine Action, which had focused increasing attention on companies linked to Israel’s defence sector in Britain, was proscribed under UK terrorism laws in July of last year. On Wednesday the United States also designated the organisation a terrorist group as part of an administration policy described as a crackdown on "far-left extremists".
Those developments follow earlier legal outcomes in which four members of Palestine Action were given longer jail terms in June after being found guilty for a raid on a factory operated by the Israeli defence firm Elbit. That raid caused more than A31 million of damage, and the judge who sentenced them concluded there was a terrorism connection. The decision to treat those actions as connected to terrorism drew criticism from human rights organisations and prominent supporters who characterised the penalties as disproportionate.
Days after the sentencing, Britain’s Court of Appeal upheld the government’s ban on Palestine Action, finding the group "overtly promoted unlawful violence amounting to terrorism". The group’s co-founder, Huda Ammori, is challenging the application of the ban in the UK Supreme Court. She said in a statement that the prospect of terror sentencing for the current defendants and the U.S. designation of Palestine Action should end the ban, which she described as "one of the most extreme attacks on free speech and the right to protest in modern British history."
Reactions and legal debate
The campaign group Defend Our Juries highlighted that the seven people charged in connection with the Turnberry damage would face substantially longer prison terms if the terrorism aggravation is applied, even though they have not been charged with specific terrorism offences. A spokesperson for the group commented on the U.S. decision to designate Palestine Action, saying: "Its now all too clear why the White House has designated Palestine Action as a global terror organisation, alongside al Qaeda. Its because members of Palestine Action upset the president in March 2025 by making a mess of his golf course."
Outlook
The defendants will appear in court on Monday, where the formal process in relation to the charges will begin. The case is likely to continue the legal and public debate over the use of terrorism designations for activist groups and the appropriate sentencing for politically motivated criminal damage, matters that have already generated criticism from human rights advocates and public figures.