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		</div><p>An animal rights activist who smeared fake blood over a McDonald’s restaurant while wearing a pig mask has been convicted of criminal damage.</p>
<p>Up to 20 protesters “overwhelmed” security at the fast food chain’s outlet in Brighton on May 18, holding signs and chanting through a megaphone.</p>
<p>Actress Dylan Roffey, who was pictured covered in the fake blood and wearing a pig mask, claimed in court on Thursday that her actions were legal because she was trying to save animals from slaughter.</p>
<p>The 24-year-old said the red substance was a “completely edible” mixture of flour and food dye, designed to highlight the plight of what she called animals being “murdered”.</p>
<figure id="attachment_139917" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-139917" style="width: 600px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="size-full wp-image-139917" src="https://londonglossy.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/C44BA922-EC0F-4564-B4E9-8EF9531DD062.jpeg" alt="" width="600" height="829" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-139917" class="wp-caption-text">Dylan Roffey during a protest outside Brighton Magistrates Court</figcaption></figure>
<p>However, a judge at Brighton Magistates’ Court rejected her defence and found her guilty of criminal damage.</p>
<p>Roffey, of Terminus Road in Brighton, appeared in court in a t-shirt with the words “meat the victims” written on it.</p>
<p>She was cleared of obstructing a police officer, with District Judge Amanda Kelly saying she was “not sure” the PC’s force was “reasonable”.</p>
<p>McDonald’s assistant manager Robert Frost, who was in charge of the restaurant on the night, told the court that between 10 and 20 protesters had arrived at about 7.30pm.</p>
<p>“They overwhelmed security,” he said.</p>
<p>“One of them had a loudspeaker chanting slogans about how there is animals being killed and they began throwing red paint, to show blood, across the premises.</p>
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<p>“Some of the customers were quite upset.”</p>
<figure id="attachment_139919" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-139919" style="width: 600px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="size-full wp-image-139919" src="https://londonglossy.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/8B835170-B2E3-4AF1-8B98-10EF8A502F46.jpeg" alt="" width="600" height="338" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-139919" class="wp-caption-text">Roffey pictured in the restaurant during her protest</figcaption></figure>
<p>Mr Frost told the court that he called the police and many of the protesters started to leave, but one woman refused.</p>
<p>He said he saw officers having to pull her up and take her outside.</p>
<p>Earlier, Roffey’s solicitor Meredoc McMinn sought to have the resisting a police officer charge dismissed on the basis of “unreasonable force” but Judge Kelly declined to do so and the case continued.</p>
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<p>Roffey told the court the purpose of the protest was to highlight the ‘murder’ of animals by McDonald’s and other companies.</p>
<p>She said of her motivation: “To raise awareness of what McDonald’s is doing to animals and to save the lives of animals by being there and stopping the sale of their bodies.</p>
<p>“By raising awareness through what we were saying, changing people’s minds and secondly every sale that they do not make results in less animals being murdered.”</p>
<p>She said the red substance – meant to symbolise “the blood of animals being shed” – was made from food dye, flour and water and was “completely edible”.</p>
<p>Mr McMinn argued that Roffey “made a point of spreading (the fake blood) on surfaces that would normally have been cleaned”.</p>
<figure id="attachment_139918" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-139918" style="width: 600px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="size-full wp-image-139918" src="https://londonglossy.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/AE617F83-3D01-4EA2-B033-695F412F538F.jpeg" alt="" width="600" height="439" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-139918" class="wp-caption-text">Supporters set off smoke flares outside the court</figcaption></figure>
<p>In sentencing Roffey, Judge Kelly said: “Not withstanding the fact that the mixture was flour, water and food dye… the damage need not be permanent in order to be criminal.</p>
<p>“I am absolutely sure that Miss Roffey intended that damage.</p>
<p>“I find that Miss Roffey’s purposes was to raise awareness and attract publicity for her cause but that these purposes are too far removed from providing the animals’ immediate protection.</p>
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<p>“I have a lot of respect for a young woman with strong principles which you clearly do but this is not the way to go about it.”</p>
<p>The judge also noted that customers who are “legally entitled to go to McDonald’s for their Friday night dinner” had to leave because of the process.</p>
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<p>Roffey – who last week was sentenced to 150 hours of unpaid work for an unrelated assault – had another 60 hours of unpaid work added to her sentence.</p>
<p>She must also pay £50 compensation to McDonald’s, costs of £250 and a victim surcharge of £85.</p>
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