Head of anti-monarchy group arrested during King Charles’ coronation

British police arrested multiple people amid the coronation of King Charles III on Saturday, with anti-monarchy group Republic saying their head Graham Smith was among those detained.

Republic tweeted that Graham Smith was arrested along with five other members of their team and hundreds of placards were seized. It comes as London’s Metropolitan Police also confirmed the arrests of at least seven people, but did not give any names.

“Is this democracy?” the tweet from Republic read.

Protesters could be seen Saturday morning carrying signs reading, “Not my King.”

Republic calls for the end of the monarchy.

London’s Metropolitan Police tweeted that a “significant police operation is under way in central London” around 8:30 a.m. local time.

“We have made a number of arrests in the area of Carlton House Terrace. The individuals have been held on suspicion of breaching the peace,” the police tweeted.

They then detailed that earlier in the day, four others were arrested in the area of St. Martin’s Lane and held on suspicion of conspiracy to cause public nuisance. Police said they seized “lock-on devices,” which can be used by protesters to lock themselves to public fixtures.

Three others were arrested in the area of Wellington Arch, according to police, and held on “suspicion of possessing articles to cause criminal damage.”

The arrests come after the Canadian government earlier in the week warned Canadians to exercise a “high degree of caution in the United Kingdom due to the threat of terrorism.”

“Previous incidents have resulted in casualties. They include random violent incidents in public areas, such as knife and vehicle attacks as well as explosions,” officials said in a May 2 travel advisory.

“These incidents have occurred mainly in the London area but have also happened elsewhere. Further attacks in the United Kingdom are likely.”

In 2019, a man previously convicted of terrorism offences stabbed two people to death and injured three others before being shot dead by police on London Bridge. In 2017, 30 people were injured after a homemade explosive device was partially detonated inside a crowded subway station.

Most recently, British police arrested a man Tuesday and blew up a suspicious bag outside Buckingham Palace.

Metropolitan Police said officers arrested a man in the evening after he approached the palace gates and asked to speak to a soldier. When he was refused, he began to throw shotgun cartridges into the palace grounds, the force said.

The man was searched and a lock knife was found, police said. He was arrested on suspicion of possession of a knife and ammunition, and the man’s backpack was blown up in a controlled explosion after the suspect told officers to handle it with care.

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Coronation of King Charles III: A new King is crowned in Westminster Abbey

More than 9,000 officers are on coronation day duty in London as foreign dignitaries and heads of state, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, are in town visiting for the rare event.

U.K. Security Minister Tom Tugendhat told Times Radio Wednesday that their presence makes the coronation “a very complex policing operation, a very complex intelligence operation.”

“The police are, to put it mildly, all over it, and our intelligence and other security forces are extremely aware of the challenges that we face and ready to deal with them — as the police did quite brilliantly yesterday,” he said.

“This is an enormously important moment for the country.”

— with files from Aaron D’Andrea and The Associated Press.

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