The person in charge of the main British anti-monarchy movement has been arrested this Saturday along with several volunteers at the beginning in Trafalgar Square in London, of a protest against the imminent coronation of Carlos III.

Republic CEO Graham Smith and five other volunteers have gone on to police disposition around 6:30 a.m. during the preparations for the protest called, among others, by the Alianza de Republican European Movementswhose supporters have begun to arrive at the square with flags and yellow shirts to protest against the celebration and the British monarchy.

“They were picking up the banners and taking them away when the police stopped them,” Republic director Harry Stratton told The Guardian. Another activist, Luke Whiting, explained to the Press Association agency that Graham and the activists would have been identified carrying megaphones in what would be a violation of recent anti-protest laws enacted last year by the British authorities, which prohibit the use of amplifiers.

“It is not clear exactly if the police are using these new powers and if you are abusing of them to prevent protests from taking place,” Whiting said, while Stratton said he was surprised by the arrests. “We have asked why they have been arrested but they have not given us an answer. We had held several meetings with the Police in this regard and in principle all the noise we made was within what was contemplated, “added the director of Republic about the arrests of his colleagues.

The British Police had already advanced on its Twitter account that it would display “a low tolerance” to anyone who tried to “undermine” the events of the day.

It is expected that this noon they will meet until 2,000 protesters under Nelson’s Column, including representatives of the Swedish, Dutch and Norwegian republican movements, to protest against the coronation of the new British monarch. The concentration, for the moment, has already begun with the presence of hundreds of people in yellow T-shirts shouting “He is not my king” and with banners with the motto “Abolish the monarchy.”