Activists Face ‘Terror’ Charges for ‘Vandalising Trump’s Golf Course’

Prosecutors are seeking to establish a “terrorism connection” in the case of seven Palestine Action activists who allegedly spray-painted Donald Trump’s golf course in Scotland.

The seven have been charged with malicious damage over the 8 March 2025 protest, which came weeks after Trump proposed a US-led takeover of the Gaza strip, the Guardian reported. 

Activists broke into the US president’s Turnberry golf course and spray-painted the message “Gaza is not 4 sale” on the lawn. They also sprayed weed killer and daubed the clubhouse in red paint. 

“The prosecution will seek to establish a ‘terror connection’, to enable terror sentences to be imposed on the defendants even though the prosecution has chosen not to charge them with any terror offences,” said campaign group Defend Our Juries (DOJ).

Trump had two phone calls with then prime minister Keir Starmer after the protest, DOJ added. 

The president referred to the protesters as “terrorists” in a post on Truth Social at the time of the incident – but a report by the Scottish terrorism board published in May 2025 concluded that the protest “has not been close to meeting the statutory definition of terrorism”. 

Some have questioned whether Trump influenced the decision to later designate Palestine Action as a terrorist group in the UK in July 2025.

On Wednesday, Trump’s own administration designated Palestine Action a terror group and announced it would sanction any members based in the US. 

A spokesperson for DOJ said: “It’s now all too clear why the White House has designated Palestine Action as a global terror organisation, alongside Al Qaeda. It’s because members of Palestine Action upset the president in March 2025 by making a mess of his golf course.”

Labour MP John McDonnell said: “The government has serious questions to answer about the allegations that Donald Trump politically interfered in this matter.”

“It would be utterly shameful if the British government launched an unprecedented attack on free speech in our country – resulting in more than 3,500 people being arrested under terrorism laws for peacefully holding seven-word signs – because Donald Trump threw a tantrum over some red paint on his golf course,” he added. 

Autumn Taylor Ward, Dylan Chiaramello, Ricky Southall, Kieran Robson, Rebecca Sian Davies, Uzma Bashir and John Moxley will have their first hearing at the High Court in Glasgow on Monday 31 August.