Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters Risks Jail After Backing Outlawed Palestine Action Activist Group
Campaign Against Antisemitism prepares to pursue legal action over the musician’s public support for the proscribed group.
Rocker Roger Waters may have found himself in hot water with the British government after throwing his support behind the recently outlawed Palestine Action organization.
The former member of Pink Floyd released a video message on X praising them as a “great organization” just hours after they were declared a banned terrorist organization. Open support of the group is a punishable criminal offense in the United Kingdom and could result in the songwriter being imprisoned for up to 14 years.
“This is independence day, July 5, 2025. I declare my independence from the Government of the U.K. who has just designated Palestine Action a proscribed terrorist organization,” Mr. Waters defiantly declared in his video message. “For the record, 5th of July. I support Palestine Action. It’s a great organization. They are non-violent, they are absolutely non-terrorist in any way.”
“We will not be rolled over by this appalling Labour government in the United Kingdom,” he added. “Palestine Action is not a terrorist organization, so they are lying, and they have put their lies into the law of the land.”
The U.K. Parliament voted last week to ban Palestine Action in response to an incident in June in which activists with the group broke into a military base and damaged two fighter planes. The group has a history of destructive attacks, including at U.K. facilities of Elbit Systems, an Israeli-based military tech company.
In response to Mr. Water’s video, a spokesman for Campaign Against Antisemitism said his U.K.-based advocacy group is preparing to present a criminal case against the singer.
“Last night, former Pink Floyd frontman Roger Waters published a video across multiple social media platforms in which he declared his support of proscribed terrorist organization Palestine Action,” the official said in a statement to The Telegraph.
The statement noted that section 17 of the U.K.’s Terrorism Act of 2000 dictates that expressing an opinion or belief that supports a proscribed organization constitutes a criminal offense. “Campaign Against Antisemitism is preparing a criminal prosecution, which would require the consent of the director of public prosecutions, Stephen Parkinson.”
