A group of about 20 protesters entered Edinburgh Castle on Tuesday evening, claiming to have “seized” the landmark under article 61 of Magna Carta.
Members of the public were evacuated as the demonstrators entered the grounds of the castle without a ticket. Police Scotland said that officers were dealing with the protest.
Reports emerged at about 5.45pm of an incident close to the entrance to the Museum of The Royal Regiment for Scotland.
The protesters filmed their protest on Facebook Live. In a 13-minute video, a woman says the castle “belongs to the people” and that they are “taking our power back”. She adds the Scottish people have been “lied to all our lives” and that the “building belongs to us, we have taken the castle back” in an effort to “restore the rule of law”.
A man adds: “Treason’s been going on for that long now, we can’t sit back and let everybody perish under the stupid legislation and fraudulent government tyranny, so let’s just take it all back, not just the castle.”
As police officers appear in the footage, the female protester told officers they were seizing the castle under article 61 of Magna Carta. Magna Carta – signed by King John in 1215 – has never applied in Scotland as it predates the Act of Union.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Officers are currently in attendance at Edinburgh Castle and are engaging with a group of people who have gathered within the castle grounds.”
A spokesperson for Historic Environment Scotland told the Edinburgh Evening News: “A group of around 20 individuals entered Edinburgh Castle this evening without payment. After refusing requests to leave the premises Police Scotland were called to the site and are dealing with the matter. There are no other visitors currently on site.”