Massive Attack frontman Robert Del Naja among 500 arrested at Palestine Action protest | Massive Attack
Massive Attack frontman Robert Del Naja was arrested on suspicion of showing support for a banned organization after taking part in a mass protest against the Palestine Action ban in central London on Saturday.
Del Naja, also known as 3D, was among hundreds of demonstrators in Trafalgar Square on Saturday afternoon, holding a banner that read “I Am Against Genocide, I Support Palestine Action.”
In the footage of the moments he was arrestedWhile other protesters cheered and applauded, Del Naja is seen being approached by police officers who told him he would be arrested and led him away from the demonstration.
As he loses his composure, a man can be heard asking Del Naja: “Can you tell us why you were arrested today?” The musician replied: “I am being detained unlawfully.”
Before his arrest, Del Naja told the Press Association that he wanted to attend the protest despite the consequences a possible arrest could have on his music career.
“There was obviously a lot of concern about us not being able to travel and get a visa as a musician,” he said.
“But I thought ‘this is ridiculous’ and I thought it was even more ridiculous that the police were making a U-turn again to arrest people. So today I’m going to hold a banner.”
“If I’m arrested, I feel very confident if I go into court with the right guidance and say, ‘This was an unlawful arrest and therefore I’m not taking it.’
He added: “I think the actions of Palestine Action were deeply patriotic because they largely protected our country from being involved in serious war crimes and breaking international law.
“How much more patriotic can you get than that?”
Massive Attack will begin a summer tour in Europe from May 26 to June 8, kicking off in Helsinki, Finland, and then performing in Rättvik, Sweden; Copenhagen in Denmark; Berlin in Germany; and Brussels in Belgium.
British trip-hop group formed in Bristol in 1988 by Del Naja, Grant “Daddy G” Marshall, Adrian “Tricky” Thaws and Andrew “Mushroom” Vowles. As of 2025, the group consists of only Del Naja and Marshall.
More than 500 people were arrested on Saturday as part of the first mass demonstration against Palestine Action’s ban since the supreme court ruled in February that the group’s ban was unlawful.
The high court ruling stated that the government’s ban on the direct action group was “disproportionate and unlawful” and that most of its activities did not reach the level, scale and permanence to be defined as terrorism.
Following this decision, the Met stated that its officers were unlikely to proceed with arrests. But he said he would continue to arrest protesters for supporting Palestine Action until March.
More than 2,200 people have been arrested so far for allegedly supporting Palestine Action.
Defend Our Juries, which organized the demonstration on Saturday, said: “The Met is choosing to make the arrest despite the government’s ban on the group having been ruled unlawful by the high court and leading lawyers warning any arrest would be unlawful.”
A spokesman for the group described the arrests as “truly surreal” and added: “An already absurdly authoritarian measure has now become even more absurd ahead of an appeal court hearing this month.”
The Metropolitan Police said 523 people aged between 18 and 87 had been arrested by midnight on April 11.
The Press Association contributed to this report
