People died as a result of these 'protests'. As much as I agree with the message, the medium is dispicable and only brings hate from those we should be seeking to convince. The people decrying these charges are out of touch, to put it mildly. Alienaring those you need to accomplish your goal is not a virtue.
I'm pretty amazed that "conspiracy to cause public nuisance" is an actual crime in a developed nation, much less that it can carry a 5 year jail sentence.
That sounds about right for the UK, doesn't seem surprising at all to me. I also wouldn't be surprised to see similar laws enacted in the US if they aren't already and I just haven't heard of them yet.
