Chiswick-raised film maker one of Extinction Rebellion's 'Petroleum 9'
Picture: Instagram
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After two days of hearings, the trial of Jack Harries, the Chiswick-raised YouTube film maker and influencer has been postponed until September.Jack Harries appeared at Hendon Magistrates Court this Thursday and Friday (24/25 July) charged with criminal damage and aggravated trespass.
As a result of the hearing the charge criminal damage has been dropped with only the aggravated trespass charge to be tried.
He is one of a group of Extinction Rebellion members dubbed the ‘Petroleum 9’ who glued themselves to the doors of the Intercontinental Hotel on Park Lane during an international petroleum conference. They are all pleading not guilty on the basis that their actions were justified by a looming climate emergency.
This Monday Mr Harries said in an Instagram post, “Scientists are ringing the alarm bells, telling us fossil fuels must stay in the ground. The IPCC report released last year states clearly that we have just 12 years to limit global warming to no more than 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels. This requires rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society, not ‘business as usual’. While tomorrow we will face charges of criminal damage and aggravated trespass for our actions, I can only hope we are standing on the right side of history.”
Mr Harries has previously said his interest in the issue of climate change was stoked by his work in documentary film making which took him to parts of the world where he saw both the impact of melting glaciers and drought in countries hit by rising temperatures. He became aware of Extinction Rebellion while making a film about air quality in London.
He first came to prominence with the success of JacksGap a series of YouTube videos made with his twin brother Finn. Starting in July 2011 he recorded his gap year through a video diary for family and friends, but it rapidly became a YouTube sensation.
JacksGap video content later expanded to vlogs and comedy sketches, to bungee jumping and unicycling pieces, as well as documenting the twins' travels around the world in Europe, New York and Thailand. By February 2013, JacksGapit reached one million subscribers , 88 per cent of which were female, aged between 14 and 17 years.
Extinction Rebellion has launched a CrowdJustice campaign to raise funds for defendants’ legal costs. Mr Harries is being represented by Kirsty Brimelow QC of Doughty Street Chambers and Mike Shwarz (assisted by Will Durrands) of Bindmans Solicitors.
Jack Harries. Picture: Twitter
The other eight accused are:
· Cathy Eastburn, 52, musician and mum, originally from Cornwall, now lives in South London
· Joel Instone, 29, workers’ co-op cafe worker, Lancashire
· Sam Knights, 23, actor and writer, lives in London
· Mark Ovland 36, Buddhist teacher, Somerset
· Jeremy Parker, 51, IT consultant, originally from Birmingham, now lives in London
· Yaani Postelnik, 54, Buddhist teacher/minister, from New Zealand, now lives in Devon
· Serena Schellenberg, 58, TV producer and animal welfare charity worker, originally from Yorkshire, now lives in London
· Trudi Warner, 64, retired social worker, London
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July 17, 2019
