Mangrove Nine

The case was thrown out by the presiding magistrate, who found that evidence from twelve police officers showed they equated Black radicalism with criminal intent,[4] but the Director of Public Prosecutions reinstated the charges and the Mangrove Nine were re-arrested in a series of dawn raids.

This trial marked the first judicial acknowledgement of institutional racism within the Metropolitan Police, highlighting how Black activists reframed criminal charges as an opportunity to challenge systemic bias.

[1][8] Rupert Boyce, Rhodan Gordon, Anthony Innis and Altheia Jones-Lecointe received suspended sentences for lesser offences, including affray and assaulting police officers.

In his summing up, the judge, Edward Clarke, said the trial had "regrettably shown evidence of racial hatred on both sides", a statement the Metropolitan Police attempted, unsuccessfully, to have withdrawn.

[4] Ian Macdonald wrote in Race Today: "The Mangrove Nine trial was a watershed because we learnt through experience how to confront the power of the court, because the defendants refused to play the role of 'victim' and rely on the so called 'expertise' of the lawyer.