The Met just arrested protesters backing a banned group days before a Supreme Court showdown

So here's the thing. This was never a normal protest.

It's a protest where just holding a sign can get you arrested.

Palestine Action was banned under the Terrorism Act last year, after it said it broke into RAF Brize Norton and damaged two military aircraft. Since then, supporting the group has been a crime. The same kind of crime as supporting ISIS or al-Qaeda.

And the police were ready for this one. Commander Adam Slonecki of the Metropolitan Police warned people before the rally even started. He says quote "it is not just those who hold up placards who should expect to be arrested".

That's the Met saying this was planned, not a reaction.

Now look at the numbers. Nine out of every ten terrorism arrests in Britain over the past year were linked to this one group. Not ISIS. Not al-Qaeda. Palestine Action.

So why today?

Because in four days, the Supreme Court hears the biggest challenge yet to the ban. Palestine Action's co-founder, Huda Ammori, took the case all the way up. Today's protest is a show of defiance right before that hearing.

And the legal fight has swung both ways already. In February, the High Court ruled the ban itself was unlawful. Then in June, five Court of Appeal judges overturned that, ruling the ban was a fair limit on free speech. Now the Supreme Court gets the final word.

Defend Our Juries says there's another reason for all this. They say the ban was really about pleasing Donald Trump. They point out today's protest targeted US buildings, and that Washington itself sanctioned Palestine Action as a terrorist group two months ago. The group also says the Met is, in their words, terrified of facilitating US embarrassment.

The Met gives a simpler reason. It says this isn't about stopping anyone's views. It's about stopping crime.

One protester held a sign that read, quote "I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action". Under the law right now, that sign alone can be treated as a crime.

So where does this leave things? Nobody knows how many were arrested. Nobody knows who they are. Nobody knows if anyone will be charged.

And in four days, the Supreme Court could change all of it.