Samuel Corner Tells Court His Sledgehammer Attack on Sgt Kate Evans Was ‘Reasonable’

A British court heard that Samuel Corner, 23, struck a police officer with a sledgehammer during a raid at Elbit Systems UK near Bristol on 6 August 2024, and Corner told jurors it “seemed reasonable” at the time.

“- Published A Palestine Action activist who hit a police officer with a sledgehammer, fracturing her back, said it "seemed reasonable" at the time, a court has heard”

BBC

The BBC reported that Corner denies charges of grievous bodily harm with intent and criminal damage following the raid, and that the trial is taking place at Woolwich Crown Court.

BBC

Prosecutor Deanna Heer KC asked Corner whether he hit Sgt Kate Evans because he thought she was a security guard and she was complicit with Elbit, and Corner replied, “No.”

The BBC said Corner accepted the officer had posed no threat to him and that, in hindsight, his actions were extreme given the consequences.

The officer suffered a fractured spine and “remains on restricted duties at work,” according to the BBC.

The court heard that the defendants used sledgehammers and crowbars to destroy computers, drones and other equipment, and the trial continues, the BBC reported.

Corner told the court he struck Sgt Kate Evans after he heard “someone screaming” and feared his co-defendant was being injured by security, according to the BBC.

The BBC said Corner told jurors the sole intention of the break-in was to “shut Elbit down” by destroying weapons and damaging the factory, and he accepted in court that Sgt Evans was not injuring anyone.

Combat Antisemitism Movement

Under questioning, the BBC reported that Heer asked, “Do you agree that, whatever you may have thought, it was completely unreasonable to hit Sgt Evans with a sledgehammer?” and Corner replied, “It seemed reasonable to do something and I had to act quickly.”

The Combat Antisemitism Movement described Corner’s account as believing it was “reasonable” to strike the police officer with a sledgehammer during a violent break-in at a UK facility linked to an Israeli defense company in 2024.

That same source said Corner admitted he struck the officer during the August 2024 raid, leaving him with a fractured spine, and that the officer “remains on restricted duty.”

The Times of Israel similarly reported that Corner told the court, “It seemed reasonable to do something, and I had to act quickly,” and that he feared that one of his fellow activists was being hurt by security personnel.

Prosecutors and other reporting described the raid as involving tools and significant property damage at the Elbit Systems UK site near Bristol.

“Zev Stub is the Times of Israel's Diaspora Affairs correspondent”

The Times of Israel

The BBC said the trial has heard the defendants used sledgehammers and crowbars to destroy computers, drones and other equipment, and it placed the raid on 6 August 2024.

The Combat Antisemitism Movement said prosecutors told the court the attackers used sledgehammers and crowbars during the break-in, causing about £1 million in damage.

The Times of Israel likewise said the August 2024 raid “took place around 10 months into the Gaza war” triggered by Hamas’s October 7 terror onslaught, and it reported that prosecutors said the raid caused about 1 million pounds ($1.4 million) in damages.

The Times of Israel also reported that the court’s public gallery was filled with supporters of the defendants, some of whom wore keffiyeh scarves, and that three pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested outside the court.

The BBC reported that alongside Corner, Charlotte Head, 30, Leona Kamio, 30, Fatema Rajwani, 21, Zoe Rogers, 22, and Jordan Devlin, 31, are also on trial at Woolwich Crown Court accused of criminal damage.

The case is framed as a retrial after an earlier jury outcome, with multiple sources describing what the first jury did and did not decide.

The Combat Antisemitism Movement said Samuel Corner is one of six members of Palestine Action facing retrial on charges including criminal damage and violent disorder, and it stated that a previous jury acquitted the group of aggravated burglary but failed to reach verdicts on several other counts.

Combat Antisemitism Movement

The Times of Israel similarly reported that six members of the anti-Israel group are being retried after a jury acquitted them of aggravated burglary earlier this year but wasn’t able to reach verdicts on several key charges, including criminal damage and violent disorder.

The Times of Israel added that the retrial concerns the charges of criminal damage and violent disorder and said it is expected to continue next week.

It also provided additional background about Palestine Action’s legal status in the UK, saying Palestine Action was banned in the UK in July 2025 after activists broke into a Royal Air Force base and vandalized aircraft in protest of Britain’s military support for Israel.

The BBC reported that Corner’s grandfather described him in a character reference as a “gentle soul” who “cares deeply about the injustices in the world” and “finds any form of violence abhorrent.”

While all three main accounts describe the same core incident—Samuel Corner, 23, striking Sgt Kate Evans with a sledgehammer during a 6 August 2024 raid at Elbit Systems UK near Bristol—each outlet frames the event differently in emphasis and language.

“A British anti-Israel activist told a court on Thursday that he believed it was “reasonable” to strike a police officer with a sledgehammer during a violent break-in at a UK facility linked to an Israeli defense company in 2024”

Combat Antisemitism Movement

The BBC focuses on the court exchange and the defendant’s stated mindset, quoting Corner’s “seemed reasonable” claim and reporting that the officer “remains on restricted duties at work.”

BBC

The Combat Antisemitism Movement frames the attack as “reasonable” in its headline and describes the group’s stated aim as “shut Elbit down,” while also stating that police released footage of Palestine Action activists attacking a female police officer with a sledgehammer.

The Times of Israel similarly centers Corner’s testimony and quotes his “It seemed reasonable to do something, and I had to act quickly,” but it also situates the raid in the context of the Gaza war by stating the raid took place “around 10 months into the Gaza war triggered by Hamas’s October 7 terror onslaught.”

The sources also diverge on the nature of arrests outside the courtroom, with the Combat Antisemitism Movement saying police arrested three anti-Israel protesters outside the courtroom, while the Times of Israel says three pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested outside the court.

The overlap in facts—tools used, the officer’s fractured spine, and the “shut Elbit down” aim—coexists with these differences in narrative framing, as the sources present them.